Eating Local Over a Fire

Last week I went camping with my friend Sandy in Northern Lower Michigan. One of our favorite things to do on these annual meccas to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is cook over a fire. And I don’t mean hot dogs. Even while camping, we aim to follow the locavore philosophy as much as possible.

Here’s an easy meal we made with vegetables in season: Grilled Steak with Chimichurri Sauce, Asparagus, Garlic Scapes and Potatoes. The produce came from our local farmers market or the garden, and the meat came from my mixed quarter of beef in the freezer. We even found the prosciutto at the Cedar City Market, known for natural foods.

Lots of people who camp know that one of the best ways to cook potatoes is to wrap them up in foil and let them roast over coals. That’s exactly what Sandy and I did. You just have to get them going first because they need at least half an hour to be tender (for 1-2-inch pieces).

Meanwhile, we made the Chimichurri sauce, which also needs to sit for about 30 minutes, and marinated the grassfed t-bone steak from Lubbers Farm in olive oil, salt and pepper. I brought fresh parsley and oregano from my garden for the Chimichurri!

Then we roasted asparagus and garlic scapes–fresh from the Holland Farmers Market–over the coals. This is easiest to do with a vegetable grate. (The National Park Service provides fire pits with standard grill grates at their campgrounds. Our tax dollars at work, and worth every penny!)

After wrapping the asparagus and garlic in prosciutto, we put it back on the grill to get crispy.

Then we grilled the steak about three minutes per side (it was only 3/4 of a pound and–yes–Sandy and I shared one steak) and let it rest a couple minutes under foil after cooking. As with other grassfed meat grilling recipes, it’s important not to overcook the meat because it is so lean.

This is how the potatoes turned out after roasting.

The whole meal from preparation to serving took about an hour. One of our favorite things to do during the process? Drink local wine. Just like at home.

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When Garlic Scapes Are in Season

What is a garlic scape?

A few years ago I may not have been able to answer that question. But since I’ve become a locavore (whenever possible….it’s tough to be a pure locavore living in the North Country!), I’ve paid more attention to what’s available at my local farmers markets.

Well, it’s scape season! Garlic scapes are the shoots of the garlic bulb, edible and delicious in salads, pesto, on pizza, or simply sautéed.

I decided to roast mine with some asparagus, also in season here in Michigan right now, that I picked up along with the scapes from Eaters Guild–one of my favorite organic producers–at the Holland Farmers Market today, along with some fingerling potatoes from Visser Farms.

First I roasted the potatoes in olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Then I added the scapes (chopped) to the oil and placed the asparagus on top.

I roasted the vegetable mixture another ten minutes.

Then served the vegetables alongside a Grilled Ribeye Steak that I picked up from Crane Dance Farm at the Holland Farmers Market this morning. I love it when they make the trek to Holland on Saturdays!