elizabethramos.com

roasted tomatoes with shrimp and feta.

photo via Real Simple

I haven’t shared any recipes in a while, but I had to post this one! It’s one of the best new dishes I’ve tried in a long time. And so simple. We had it for dinner last night and I am very much looking forward to having the leftovers for lunch!

Roasted tomatoes. With a little shrimp, herbs from the garden, and feta cheese. I splurged on a garlic and herb feta, because you can never have too much garlic. Other than that, follow the recipe and it will not disappoint. We paired it with some Rosemary Sourdough bread from Swamp Rabbit Cafe & Grocery. Amazing.

keep it local.

A few weeks ago some friends and I headed up the road to Asheville, NC. The main reason for our trip was to meet Grace of D*S at her book signing there. We had so much fun exploring the city and checking out the shops, galleries and restaurants before we headed over to the bookstore. (If you want to see where all we went, look for more photos at Erin’s blog.)

Asheville has always had a strong ‘buy local’ movement (see examples of their campaigns below), but I was excited to see a new ‘Local is the new Black’ promotion around town. Beautiful silver screenprinted posters stand out against shop windows all over town.

Various Asheville Grown Business Alliance (AGBA) Campaigns as seen around town. Photo credits clockwise from top right: alicia.pimental / briface / ello lovey / Ron Gunzburger

It’s a great reminder as we head into the holidays. Every city has independent retailers struggling to make ends meet, and we can choose to support them and our local economy with our purchases.

If you’re not sure where to start, there’s a growing movement that can help. The 3/50 Project has been very instrumental for me in demonstrating exactly what kind of impact buying local can have. From their website:

“For every $100 spent in locally owned independent stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures. If you spend that money in a national chain, only $43 stays here. Spend it online and nothing comes home.”

The basic idea behind their project is to encourage consumers to pick 3 local businesses whose doors they would be sad to see close, and commit to spend $50 (total) each month at these stores. This is a great campaign with a very worthy mission.

I’ve seen a sign online that says “If you really want to occupy Wall Street, do your holiday shopping at a small independent merchant.” While I don’t know if that’s the entire answer, it’s definitely a good start! Support your local businesses this holiday season — whether that’s an artist or a restaurant or shop owner in your city. Think of creative ways to give gifts that support others in your community.

holiday kickoff.

Thanksgiving is quickly becoming my favorite holiday. Heading to the mountains the last few years with (the local part of) my family instead of staying in Greenville has given the entire holiday new life.

This years Thanksgiving was:
pie made from pumpkins
a heritage turkey (brined!)
games on the iPad
an amazing view
never needing to know the time
a steady supply of food
magazines and books
Rook
Dutch Blitz
a giant puzzle
hiking to see a waterfall
naps and general laziness
taking photos
quality conversation

It was not:
football
a fireplace
Black Friday shopping
cell phone service
internet
emails
Riley

I’m so grateful for a relaxing start to the holidays this year. The next few weeks will fly by I’m sure, but it was wonderful to have a couple days to relax and take a deep breath.

Roast Beef With Slow-Cooked Tomatoes and Garlic

It’s been a while since I’ve talked about food, so I’ll share a new recipe we tried last night. We’re not big red meat eaters, but I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for a while and it seemed like the perfect way to use the cherry tomatoes that are everywhere this time of year. I used a sirloin tip roast we bought at the Saturday Morning Market from Native Meats.

It looked and smelled amazing before I even put it in the oven!

You’ll have to take my word for it when I say this photo doesn’t do it justice! I’m not a food photographer, but here’s the finished product!

Look at that roasted garlic! Mmmmm!

We were anxious to eat, so I didn’t take any photos after we sliced it, but I was really happy with the tender, ever-so-slightly-pink inside. Since I never know how long to cook things like this, and I get nervous about over- or under-cooking meat, I bought an instant-read thermometer the other day, and this was the first recipe I used it on. In the end, this 2-pound roast was in the oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes, and it came out a very nice medium-well. 

The verdict: It was exceptional! I’m sure that it has more to do with the quality of the meat than the cook, but I don’t mind at all! I’ll definitely be making this one again!