The summer of local eating

We made a pact this summer to eat locally produced food as much as possible.

For us, that's meant buying a share in a small local CSA (community supported agriculture) program - our first batch of farm-fresh produce arrives soon! - buying from the farmers market and local producers whenever we can, and eating what we grow in our own garden. In also means focusing on foods that are in season, rather than whatever we feel like eating, and trying to be more conscious of eating food the way it was meant to be eaten - fresh, natural, and local, rather than trucked in from great distances.

This is not meant to be a lecture on local eating (though I'd encourage you to try it out!) but instead, to introduce the fact that we hope to be experimenting with lots of recipes using produce from our area, and I plan on sharing some of them here, like this one.
Last week, the city editor at our newspaper, who keeps his own formidable vegetable garden, brought in a bagful of extra radishes for us to share. I was delighted but not sure of the best way to cook them. One of my Twitter friends recommended sauteing them in a little bit of butter, preferably with some greens.

We took her at her word, and last weekend we crafted a feast. In addition to grilling up buffalo sausage purchased from a farmers market vendor and some corn, we made up this simple side dish with the radishes and some arugula from the farmers market:

Radish and Arugula Saute
Bunch of radishes, washed and quartered
Bunch of fresh arugula, washed
1-2 tablespoons butter

Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add radishes; saute for a few minutes until they begin to soften slightly. Toss in argula and saute briefly until arugula heats through and wilts. Remove from heat and serve as side dish.

So simple, but such a delicious way to add a few fresh vegetables to the meal! We enjoyed it so much that now we went out and bought radish seeds and now have our own radishes growing in the garden - they should be ready for harvest in just a couple of weeks.

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