Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.

Those of you who know me well know I am a little neurotic about food. (and.... germs, throw pillows, playdough in the house, etc). So when my friend Carey loaned me a book titled "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" She had to know it would send me spiraling into a local food frenzy. If you have seen the documentary Food Inc. the book is along the same lines. It is about a family who decided to live off only food they could grow or buy in their county (yes county, not country) for a whole year! I was suddenly inspired to eat an all local diet for the summer (local meaning Texas, Houston doesn't really have a lot of farmland). The following recipes were all prepared with ingredients I bought at a farmers market last Saturday and the local section of Whole Foods, and all items were produced within 150 miles of Houston. (with the exception of flour, which I'm looking into and swiss cheese, because I had just spent like $7 on a wedge at Whole Foods earlier that week :)

Vegetable Frittata:
Start by sauteing 3 slices of purple onion (diced), 2 fresh jalapenos (seeded and diced), 2 baby yellow crookneck squash (diced), 1/2 bell pepper (any color diced), in 1T of olive oil over medium low heat. (My olive oil is local too! and tastes amazing!!)

I covered my pan for about 2-3 minutes to help my squash cook a little faster. Once the everything started browning and caramelizing, I added 1 handful of diced baby bella mushrooms, and 5 squash blossoms.

(You can add or omit any veggies to this, just remember to add veggies that need longer to cook first and quick cooking veggies last)

Once the veggies are cooked, pour 4 eggs slightly beaten with 2T of milk over the veggies. Salt and Pepper your frittata while the eggs are setting.

Once the egg mixture starts to pull away from the edges of the pan, top with your favorite shredded cheese (I used my swiss) and place the skillet in your over under LOW broil for 2-3 minutes ( until puffy, cheese is melted and a golden brown). Such a yummy brunch and even my kids devoured it.

Stuffed squash blossoms:
Squash blossoms can usually be found at farmers market in early summer, I have never seen them in a grocery store. They are most often the blossoms of zucchini plants.

I gave them a quick rinse and laid them on paper towels to dry. In a bowl combine chopped fresh basil, 3oz of fresh goat cheese, and juice from 1/2 a lemon or lime.

Once the squash blossoms are dry, fill them with a spoonful of the cheese mixture.

Twist the top to close. In a separate bowl whisk 1 egg, 3T of flour and 1/4c of milk. Dredge the blossoms into the batter and fry over medium heat in 4T of olive oil for 1-2 minutes on each side.

Drain on a paper towel and serve hot. They look weird, but taste amazing! Even Grant came back for seconds.