What did I eat a week later?

I am still trying to eat as many local ingredients, within reason. I am still drinking local milk because it tastes so much better than industrial milk. I am in love with my Parisian-esque coffee. I have told a few people about my findings, and they are blown away that it is not the coffee bean that makes great Parisian-esque coffee, rather it is the milk.

I love cheese, and I found a local cow's milk cheese maker. Ta da! Kenny's Cheese! They use milk straight from the cows they raise in Austin, KY. I am surprised at the variety of cheese Kenny makes. There is aged cheddar, mild cheddar, swiss, gouda, blue gouda, asiago and others.

When I went to the opening day of the Nashville Urban Harvest Farmer's Market last week, I picked up some chard, purple broccoli, and some of Kenny's aged cheddar. We were thrilled when we took our first taste of the aged cheddar. The texture was sturdy but not waxy, the flavor was rich, the color was a lovely deep cream, and the cheese had a sharpness that I did not believe a local cheese maker could get. It was very good, and we made the decision to try and use Kenny's cheese as part of our normal cheese drawer item.

Last week, I also went to the Nashville Farmer's market to buy my chicken from Freddie Haddox. I have been wanting to write about Freddie and his farm Mamushi Nature Farm. His farming methods go beyond minimum organic growing methods. Freddie strives for spiritual and physical connectiveness to his farm, and he raises his chickens in the most ethical manner. It was an honor to be able to get one of his chickens for my table.

The first day, I made an Eat Local baked chicken. I mixed up the remaining bacon lard, a little local butter, local tarragon, local oregano, and garlic in a bowl. I pushed this mixture under the skin to all places I could reach. I sliced an onion to put on the bottom of the pan, and I put about 1/2 cup of wine at the bottom of the roasting pan. What came out was a chicken with some of the smoky essence of the bacon lard, and a rich umami from the garlic. It was very good.

Two days later, I made a chicken and purple broccoli with fermented black bean sauce. I diced up some of the left over chicken meat, and stir fried it up. The sauce is made with real dried fermented black beans, ginger, onion, 1/2 cup wine, a little soy sauce, and garlic. All the stuff boils up with the broccoli, toss in the chicken until hot, and thicken arrowroot. I served it over some brown rice. It was yummy!

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