Door County “Locavore” Recipes

As we hurdle into 2011, more Door County residents are growing a backyard garden, more farmers’ markets sprout up in municipalities each spring, and more businesses are attempting to source their products from local growers. If there was ever a place ripe for a “locavore” to thrive, Door County is it.

The Pulse asked readers to step back onto the local chuck wagon for our 5th annual Sustainability Issue. We put a call out for submissions of recipes that used at least three local ingredients so that we could share the culinary delights, as well as the benefits of a local diet, with Pulse readers.

“The whole idea behind locavores is to try to create a market behind people farming the way we prefer and a distribution system for small-scale farms.” ~ Sage Van Wing, a Seattle-based writer and co-originator of the term “locavore,” in an article printed in National Geographic.

By sourcing ingredients locally, benefits abound, including: reducing the fuel used to transport food; contributing more money into local farmers pockets; growing typically involves less chemical usage than large agri-businesses; saving farmland from development; and contributing to a sustainable society. Oh, and they taste great, too!

The following sampling of recipes came from individuals and area restaurants, meeting our requirement that at least three local ingredients were utilized.

• Red Quinoa Salad with Smoked Paprika Dressing

– Submitted by The Cookery Restaurant & Wine Bar, Fish Creek

• Wild Halibut with Door County Asparagus, Wild Ramps and Morel Mushrooms

– Submitted by The Inn at Kristofer’s, Sister Bay

• Zwiebelkuchen (Onion Tart)

– Submitted by Gloria Drummond, Baileys Harbor

If you have another locavore recipe to share with our readers, email [email protected] with “Locavore” in the subject line. We’ll consider submissions for our “Green Page” in upcoming issues.