well, that was delicious....

 I’m trying to get back into some sort of blog posting schedule – 

Y’all know I kind of lost my get-up-and-go to share things after my Mama passed on…

• Add to that my addiction to FaceBook [which has kind of begun to drive me crazy with all the over-share of quotes – and I know, I KNOW! I’m doing it too – but hey! What happened with just sharing what’s happening in our own lives with each other?]
• And Pinterest – ohmygoodness…I’m not spending quite as much time over there these days – but it IS interesting to kind of ‘track’ what others’ pin and think about what’s going on in their lives… – or... am I over- analyzing things? Ha.
• And then, of course, my new love -  Instagram – I’ve committed to a photo a day this year – and I think I’m averaging 5 or so a week – lol. I like to see the photos of those I follow too because they are REAL LIFE photos and not a bunch of ‘forward’ or ‘share’ stuff… 

Soooo – rant over –

Today I’ll share another one of my self-imposed challenges. 

[And you’re right – 

I’m sharing HERE so that I can hold myself somewhat accountable – ha.]

Farmer’s Market Meals

[Please remember that I have conceded to the wildlife in my yard and will not be growing any of my own vegetables this year… although – I’m still toying with the idea of a couple of buckets of tomatoes and basil – I don’t think those nasty little chipmunks can crawl up and eat the roots in THERE.  And I’ve not seen a rabbit come INSIDE the small fence by the back door – although, one did come right up to the fence to say hello a couple of mornings ago. We’ll see.]

 

We are fortunate to have several of the newly inspired farmer’s markets popping up around our area [think cute, fun displays, homemade breads, chef demonstrations…] We try to go to the one less than a mile from our house every week… So THIS YEAR – I thought  it would be fun to commit to purchasing 4-5 things and creating a couple of meals based solely on these ingredients.

I know…

I’m SO INNOVATIVE. Ha.

This week we had great expectations – but alas – the growing season in the south is … 
well… a little behind schedule
[will winter EVER really leave us?]

So the offerings were slim – we picked up some spinach, squash, onions, turnip greens, and over-ripe strawberries… oh! And some yummy cinnamon rolls! ‘My’ rules say I can use anything in the pantry or fridge to complete the meal – So I came up with this menu –

Ham and Spinach Crustless Quiche

[spinach + onion + ham + eggs + cream + cheese]

Spicy Skillet Greens over Hoecake

[turnip greens + onion + garlic + pepper flakes + lemon juice]

[cornmeal + buttermilk -- no egg] 

Pan Fried Squash

[squash + cornmeal + onion]

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

[spinach + onion + egg + bacon + vinegar, etc.]

 

And

Strawberry Popsicles

[strawberries + just a little sugar]

 Yum.

I don't plan to share recipes here
 [I figure if you're reading this blog then you know how to google for 
a recipe that you and your family will love.] 
But I will give a little hint or two -- 

1 - I used canning jar rings to shape my hoecakes, 2 - The only strawberries they had were overly ripe so I squished them up with my hands then added just enough sugar to sweeten for the popsicles, and 3 - Surprisingly, I really enjoyed the warm spinach salad - my parents used to eat this and called it wilted spinach salad....

So who wants to join me in this quest to eat local - eat fresh?

If you're on Instagram use the #farmersmarketmeals [there's more out there!] 

My goal is to do this weekly - 
but with my travel schedule I know
 a couple of times monthly is probably more realistic. Come on - 

Let's do this!