THE 3/50 PROJECT and EAT DOWN THE STREET

I’ve recently run across a web idea that I find fascinating. It’s called The 3/50 Project (found at http://www.the350project.net/ ). Started by a woman blogger, the idea has gone national in a matter of months. Her point is to build awareness for independent, locally owned businesses and to prompt more people to seek out and shop with local indie shops.

There is a pretty big movement these days to try to keep local dollars from disappearing into the vast national and global economy, and this looks like a great way that each of us can contribute to that notion.

The basic premise of her idea is that we should each stop and think of 3 local independent (indie) businesses that we would miss if they were gone. Take the next step and stop in and spend some money with them each month. The idea is to keep the economy rolling, but rethink where you spend your dollars and try as best you can to keep your dollars local.

She quotes that for every $100 you spend at a chain or national store, only $43 stays within your local community. Spend that $100 on-line and ZERO dollars stay local. Use that same $100 at a local store and $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures.

We all have heard a lot recently about the food movement of “locavore”, meaning eating the best, freshest you can find simply by eating what is produced close to home. The 3/50 project simply expands upon that by asking us to spend our dollars locally – and hey, if you’re already a locavore, you’re half way there!

The "Eat Down the Street" portion of her movement is easy to support, especially for me. I LOVE to eat out and local businesses are my favorite. Here's the deal from the 3/50 web site- "It’s not just retail stores we love at The 3/50 Project; it’s all types of locally owned brick and mortars! Join us in supporting the cafes, coffee shops, bistros, diners, pizza joints, pasta shops, and white table cloth haunts that make our neighborhoods fun and fabulous. Let’s commit to eating once a week at an independent spot we’d hate to see disappear—doesn’t have to be someplace pricey, just needs to be an indie (read: not a chain or national brand)."

So today I’m naming 3 independent Akron businesses that I would miss if they were gone and will make an effort to visit each one this month. Can you name 3? Share your 3 with me and we’ll try to support them together.

My three are (1) The Peanut Shop on Main Street (2) Victorian Rose in Hartville (thank you Nancy for reminding me!) and (3) Krieger’s Market in Cuyahoga Falls.

And just so that I keep the ball rolling, I'm going to do my best to stay local while eating out. This week I've lunched at Luigi's (great local pizza spot), and had dinner on Wednesday night with the Gaggle of Gals at Paladar on Chagrin Blvd. 

KRIEGERS SHOPPING THIS WEEKEND
True to the above, Saturday morning I stopped by to spend some of my dollars at Kriegers.  I've been shopping here since I was in college and lived, literally, across the street.  Now I have to drive across town to get here, but I still come as often as I can.  It's grown some and become much more popular as the years have gone by making this a busy place nearly everytime I stop by. 

For those not in the know, Kriegers is a combination produce market, deli, cheese shop, organic and health food store and funky foods purveyor located in Cuyahoga Falls at Bath Road and Grahm Road.  I've found some of my quirkier food finds here, including items from Lollipop Farms and Ornery Goat Farm.  More flamboyant produce from all over the world turns up here and lots of things grown right in our own backyard.  Amish baked goods share space with pita breads and Naan.  My favorite chicken salad is in the deli counter along with some great smoked meats.  Find out more about them on their website at http://www.kriegersmarket.com/

Today I'd already been to the Countryside Market down at Howe Meadow and while I enjoy shopping with the vendors down there, there are some things I can't find at that market.  So a quick stop at Kriegers provided me with some great things for this weekends meals. 

I've been picking jalepeno peppers from my garden recently and the best thing I know to do with them is to make salsa.  I like to mix it up a bit and do things other than the typical tomato salsas.  Today I picked up a pineapple and a couple of mangos along with a nice bunch of cilantro (which although I planted rows of cilantro in the garden, it bolted immediately and isn't producing for me at all) and a nice bag of blue corn tortilla chips.  When I got home I spent a nice quiet half hour dicing up the mango and pineapple and making a kick-butt salsa. 

PINEAPPLE MANGO SALSA
Here is my recipe for the salsa I tossed together this afternoon.  Although it seems like a simple combination, it's easy to move the heat up or down depending up how hot you like it or adjust the flavors depending upon which fruit you like best.  Adding some other flavors would be terrific too, like a little cucmber for crunch or even some avacado to add a buttery texture.

Remember to dice the fruits up really small by putting your knife skills to work.  Too large and you can't fit the chunks on the chips!  Also, make the onion and peppers fine also so no one bites into a big chuck of anything too bitey.

1/2 fresh pineapple, skinned and diced finely
2 ripe mangos, diced finely
1/3 to 1/2 cup finely diced red onion
2 jalepeno peppers, finely diced - remove the seeds and center for a mild heat
1/2 bunch chopped cilantro
Juice of 2 limes

Mix all ingredients and give a little time to meld the flavors together. 

Although I really like salsas with chips, I also absolutely love this particular salsa served over salmon or talapia.  Last week I made a siminlar salsa, mixed it with a wild grain rice mixture and some left over salmon and it was a great cold salad for lunch. 

SUMMER EVENINGS

Saturday our gaggle of gals gathered at Bev’s house for a great summer evening on the deck. As usual Bev is the consummate hostess and terrific cook.  Each of us brought a dish to share and we enjoyed a great dinner of chicken and salmon on the grill accompanied by broccoli salad, asparagus and pistachio fluff and then followed by some sweet ice cold sorbet and fruit compotes.  Yum! 

We started the evening with Bev churning out a limoncello slushy concoction from her blender and moved to a couple of great refreshing sangrias.  A little wine - a nice warm breezy deck and good food and friends and we couldn't have asked for much more.

My contribution to dinner was the appetizers.  A trip out to the farm market where I found a nice bunch of fresh beets and a tub of locally produced goat cheese from The Ornery Goat farm, a quick stop at the grocery for a whole grain baguette or two and a small wedge of Cambozola and I was in business!

I took inspiration for the Beet Crostini from the wonderful Beet and Goat Cheese Dip I ordered at The Burgundy Room on the Short North while we were in Columbus over this past Easter weekend. A browse through the internet scored the following recipe using the beets I found at the market. Once you have the beets roasted and cooled, putting this together was a snap as was the other crostini I chose to make. 

ROASTED BEET CROSTINI

This makes a stunning appetizer. The beets are roasted then pureed with goat cheese for a creamy ruby-red spread. If you've bought beets with the stems on, you could easily sautée the tops with olive oil and garlic for a topping adding more nutrition and color to this appetizer. 

2-3 small to medium sized fresh beets
1 tablespoon olive oil

1 sprig of rosemary

2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 ounces creamy goat cheese
16 1/2-inch-thick slices baguette, preferably whole-grain, cut on the diagonal

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Roll the washed and dried beets around in the olive oil.  Using a piece of aluminum foil large enough to loosely wrap the beets completely, place the beets in the foil with a couple sprigs of rosemary and thyme, cover with the foil and crimp edges to seal the packets.  Put in the oven and roast until beets very tender when pierced with a knife, 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours, depending on the size of the beets. Uncover and let cool. The skins should slip off or easily be peeled from the beets once they're cool. 

Peel the cooled beets and cut into 1-inch pieces. Place 3/4 cup beet pieces, goat cheese,salt and pepper in a food processor and puree until fairly smooth.

Place the baguette slices in the oven set at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes to toast, or grill them slightly on the outdoor grill (which I did Saturday since Bev was already heating the gill for the main course). 

To assemble crostini, spread about 2 teaspoons beet-cheese spread on each slice of toasted baguette and garnish with a leaf or two of fresh thyme.

CAMBOZOLA CHEESE AND HONEY CROSTINI

As a second appetizer offering, I also put together another of my favorite combinations, bread and cheese, in the form of a Cambozola Cheese and Walnut Crostini with Honey Drizzle. The combination of salty cheese, crunchy walnuts and sweet honey hits all the right notes.

I’m also pleased that the honey I used for my drizzle came from one of my favorite local businesses, Becker’s Cottage Herb Farm. Aside from the greenhouse plants Jan sells in the spring, she sells eggs from her 4 pretty little hens in the back coop and honey from her beehive. Even though the greenhouse is closed for the season, you can still find Jan selling her honey, herbs and flowers at the Springfield Farm Market on Friday nights and the Barberton Farm Market on Wednesday's. I'm a huge honey fan and generally buy it whenever I see it from local purveyors. Honey flavors range from light and mild to dark and robust and I love them all.  This appetizer worked very well with the mild honey I got from Jan's busy bees.

Anyone not familiar with Cambozola should quickly recitfy that situation.  Cambozola is a combination of  french triple-cream cheese and an Italian Gorganzola.  A marriage made in international heaven, this cheese is soft and creamy and has the tang of a blue cheese.  Great just served with whole grain crackers and some fruit, this cheese also works really well with the sweet honey and crunch of the walnuts in this crostini.  You'll have to search a bit to find this in a specialty cheese case like at Kreiger's or West Point Market or a more upscale grocery.  This is well worth seeking out if you love cheese as much as I do.

CAMBOZOLA CHEESE & WALNUT CROSTINI WITH HONEY DRIZZLE

4 oz. cambozola or a good blue cheese
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped coarsly - I used some glazed walnuts for added sweetness
16 1/2-inch-thick slices baguette, preferably whole-grain, cut on the diagonal
mild flavored honey

Toast the baguette slices in a 400 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or grill on a preheated grill until they are slightly toasted. 

Spread a small slice of the cambizola cheese or crumble a tablespoon of blue cheese over the warm bread.  Sprinkle with the toasted walnuts and drizzle with the honey.

SUMMER DOWNTOWN AND THINGS ARE BUSY

The Downtown Akron Partnership works hard to put out programs for downtown workers to enjoy on their lunch hours.  From lunch clubs to concerts to farm markets and programs at Lock 3, they do their best to offer something for everyone.  This past week began the lunchtime concert series.  I wandered over to the Library Amphitheater to hear a group called Flohism.  It was very hot out on the steps, but the cool jazz sounds managed to keep us all comfy for the hour or so that they played.

I enjoyed the group quite a bit and would like to hear them again, however, they don't seem to have an updated web page anywhere that I can find listing dates.  If anyone knows this group and where they might be, leave a comment below. 

FIRST THINGS FIRST...A LITTLE LUNCH

Ah, Wafa's! http://www.wafas.net/  is close enough to nip over and pick up a bite of lunch before the concert. Wafa's is a local Lebonese place in the little plaza across from the library and open for weekday breakfast and lunch only. They do a brisk business and the food is terrific and authentic. From Tebouli to Fatoush, Shewarmas to Falafels they do it all and they do it right there. There's always a line at least 5 people deep and they are mostly regulars (you can tell by the gentle chiding between staff and customers as they wait on their orders).

My favorite lunch is a self-assembly of sorts made up of a Kibbee, a piece of wheat pita bread and some of their wonderful, spicy hummus. The kibbee is this wonderful little meat dumpling made up of beef, pine nuts, bulger and some great spices then molded into a little nugget and fried. This makes it the perfect food - hot, crunchie, meaty and small enough to eat out of hand. I don't think I eat this in a traditional manner, but I like it cut in half, set on a piece of pita and spread with hummus. Oh gosh! Deelishiouso!

Rebecca swears by the chicken shawerma, Martha gets the soup and Pat says the salads are fantastic. 

Somehow though everytime I stand in line and look at all the things people are ordering and think I might just try something new....it's like a bad habit, I always get the kibbee and a side of Hummus.  I've tried Hummus all over town and most are quite good but the Wafa's version is just about the best.  It took me a bit to figure that it's the cayanne and hot oil on top that makes it so darned addicting.  And the Kibbee!  YUM! 

I decided that since it's quite good for you, Hummus would be a good thing to make at home for my own snack habits.  After a try or two I seem to have hit upon the right recipe.  Everyone can adjust the ingredients to suit their own tastes.  I see lots of styles of hummus out there, some made with black beans, some adding herbs or tomatoes.  All sound wonderful, feel free to do anything that sounds good.  Use it as a sandwich spread as well as a dip for pita or veg. 

MY VERSION OF HUMMUS

While there's no way I'd ever attempt to duplicate the kibbee (or most anything else on the Wafa menu), I was so taken by the hummus that I had to learn to make this at home. Come to discover it's very simple and there are a hundred variations on the theme. Based on the description of what's in the Wafa version (from their menu), I came up with the following and it is pretty darned good.

1 can of chick peas, drained and rinsed

1/3 cup tahini paste (found at the regular grocery store
2 cloves garlic, chopped

5-6 Tbls. fresh lemon juice
3-4 Tbls. olive oil
salt to taste
serve with cayanne pepper and a drizzle of hot chili oil to taste

Put everything in a food processor and grind to a smooth paste. Garnish with hot pepper oil and cayanne to taste. The trick to getting it as good as Wafa's is the cayanne and oil on top. This adds a nice bite to something that could initially be very bland.

I like to serve this with toasted pita chips. Simply cut wheat pitas into wedges, toss with olive oil and spices (salt, pepper, paprika, oregano (optional), chili powder (optional)). Put on a cookie tray and toast in a 350 degree oven until just beginning to toast a bit.

Now all I have to do is figure out that Kibbee........