Local Eating, Texas Style?

This week I'm visiting the great state of Texas. I'm sure Texas is lovely, but I'm trying to figure out what's so great about 110 degree temperatures. This Northern girl doesn't mind being dropped in a snow bank but introduce heat and I become a whole different (and quite frankly, rather unpleasant) person.

Prior to my departure, I spent some time searching the internet. I knew I'd be eating all my meals out this week so thought I'd see how easy it would be to "eat local" San Antonio style.

It's kinda hard.

Slow Food USA has a San Antiono chapter that is in development but no local representation at this time. Strike 1. I found a food forum where someone asked about local food choices in the city and the only response was from someone who was looking for the same thing. Strike 2. I finally found a site for a restaurant called Dough where they are members of Slow Food USA and promote local products. Problem is they're about a 20 minute cab right from my hotel. Not a homerun by maybe a ball?

Why on earth am I using sports analogies? What has come over me? Maybe my time in Texas is bringing out lots of testosterone or something. Who knows...

I had lunch today at a restaurant named Boudro's. I was sent there because they're supposed to have the best guacamole in town. And delish it was! It wasn't until after my very pleasant dining experience that I found online that they also promote the use of local ingredients. Darn. Missed opportunity to ask some questions. Well, lunch was great anyway. I had "Texas Tapas" which was corn pudding, jicama salad, pork tenderloin with pineapple, grilled Hill Country Jalapeno sausage, and smoked duck. Not to mention the fabulous guacamole made table-side. Their secret is using orange juice along with the lime juice and their special tomato sauce of fire roasted roma tomatoes with poblano peppers. Picked up a couple pointers for making guacamole!

I also found something for a restaurant called Citrus which appears to be right in the neighborhood. Their menu says, "We are committed to showcasing locally grown and seasonal produce, wild fish, and naturally raised meats.". This might be it folks! I've got my eye on the Texas Farmed Natural Chicken Breast with Honey Goat Cheese, Roasted Heirloom Potatoes and Long Beans. Um...... YUM!

So anyway, that's really all I could find. I've got my camera with me so I can take pictures of my delicious eats (and the Alamo) :). We'll see what tonight holds- hope I can talk some of the crew into trying out Citrus with me!

Healthy eating may kill my husband

Jim is terrified of healthy eating. But not for the reasons you would think. When he opens the refrigerator and sees fresh fruits and veggies, he starts to panic. He is deathly afraid of things spoiling. It's almost comical. He will worry himself sick over peaches going bad and then will reach for a bag of chips.

So after my exciting day of receiving my first Farm Fresh Delivery order, it dawned on me that I was getting ready to leave town. I left Friday afternoon for Chicago and got back late last night. I'm home today and tomorrow and then leave early Tuesday for a full week in San Antonio (yes, Texas is August. No, this is not for pleasure). So what to do with all this produce?

Well, dinner Thursday night for both Jim and myself was corn on the cob so that took care of that. But I could see that little basket of cherry tomatoes lurking in the fridge and could feel Jim's eyes on me saying "you're wasting our money on food we're never going to eat". I'll confess that popping a tomato in my mouth as a snack will never happen. I have major issues with texture and the slime of raw tomatoes just gags me. But I'm devoted to finding alternative uses for tomatoes that the whole family will eat (the kids have developed my phobia of slimy foods as well).

One thing I DO love is sundried tomatoes so I thought I'd give that a whirl. I inherited my grandpa's food dehydrator (at some point in time someone thought he was going to make his own jerky. Not sure if that ever happened). After a little checking it was determined that it would take about 10-11 hours to get these puppies into my favored state. I was concerned that using the dehdrator overnight would catch my house on fire and Jim and I would end up dehydrated ourselves but fortunately that was not the case! I think that generally people use Roma tomatoes for this but I had to use what I had on hand.


So anyhow, these things are DELISH! Before starting up the dehydrator I sprinkled them with a little salt and dried basil. That's what I had for breakfast on Friday morning- about 30 slices of sundried tomatoes! And it has opened me up to the possibilities of the food dehydrator; dried pineapple, fruit leathers, crispy vegetables, who knows?


The tomatoes have a shelf life of several months in the fridge so I'm sure we'll get through them in plenty of time. I realize that they DO lose some of their nutritional value in the process but I still see this as a great option for making different types of healthy snacks.



And the best part? Jim can rest easy, knowing that the shelf life of these little beauties has been extended. AND, making your own sundried tomatoes costs pennies on the dollar when you compare them to the cost of buying a jar at the grocery store. Ah, saving the world (and my husband's sanity) one day at a time. It's a tough job but I'm up to the challenge.