..and welcome from The Local Growers.
Here you will find the stories about those individuals who grow food and make products locally.
These are some of the people I’ve met while looking for good foods - locally grown foods.
I know their journey. It’s one I experienced growing up on our family farm in West Central Minnesota. That farm was diversified. In other words, we raised several things - crops, hogs, dairy and chickens.
Our meals featured the garden produce my mom harvested, canned and froze and the meat, eggs and dairy products we raised.
It was wholesome food!
While I don’t live on that farm anymore, I am always on the search for locally grown foods. I invite you to join me in this great journey.
Let’s go!
All in Recipes
Ohe’s Outpost sells ground beef and select meat cuts plus Mary’s baked goods and Landon’s pictures of cattle and farm scenes at the Fergus Falls Farmers Market. Landon joined the Farmers Market last year and is expanding the marketing of the family’s beef products. It’s a family affair with Landon, his two siblings and their families plus the Ohe’s parents all chipping in where needed for crops and livestock. The cattle are raised on pasture.
Here are the recipes for our Locally Grown Meal in the Vineyard. Every course featured locally grown and produced foods from the bison from Rolling R Ranch to the salad, potatoes and dessert and wine from Dancing Loons Vineyard.
I am surprised by wild rice, especially the fact it is harvested here in Otter Tail County in West Central Minnesota! You need a license and can harvest it anywhere except on Native American lands. Paul Shol of Fergus Falls joins two friends in “ricing” as he calls it. During the harvest season - late August through September - they head out in a canoe and harvest from the wild rice stands in the rivers and lakes of the area.
Our Locally Grown Meal featuring pheasant from Oakwood Game Farm was packed with locally grown and produced ingredients. Here are the recipes for the meal.
Chef Leon prepared Eggs Benedict for our latest Locally Grown Meal. The eggs came from Alison Nyberg’s farm and the ham from Haffner Family Farm. Millerville Co-op Creamery butter was used in the hollandaise. A great meal!
Rhubarb Torte and Peach Cream Pie were the desserts Shawn and Dave Schneeberger brought to our Locally Grown Meal. True to our local meal challenge, the two sourced ingredients from the area including Millerville Co-Op Creamery Butter, Swany White Flour and eggs purchased from a six-year-old who is using the egg money to buy a splash pad. The desserts were flavorful and not too sweet or too tart. Just right.
Spareribs and roasted vegetables were featured in our Locally Grown Meal. The spareribs came from Haffner Family Farm. Every item served had a story of where it came from and who grew it. A great connection between the food we eat and local growers.
It was a first for Leon: pan fry cheese curds, but these curds were a great part of our appetizers. Made with fresh cheese curds from Redhead Creamery with bacon from Haffner Family Farm, it was great served with locally sourced salad and a cheese and meat board with cheeses from Redhead Creamery and Fruitful Seasons Dairy.
Noreen Thomas and her furry friend live near Moorhead, MN on a certified organic farm. Noreen and her husband, Lee, raise organic crops and have added value to their crops by selling items like oat groats, pearled barley, rolled oats and more on their website’s online store. doubtingthomasfarm.com.
It’s a great time for Farmers Market produce! There are a lot of great fresh fruits and vegetables available now. Check it out!
Larry and Lois Nelson offer sweet spreadable jams and jellies with a bountiful variety of flavors from traditional strawberry jams to raspberry jalapeño. Fun flavors good for spreading on breakfast toast or cooking with…Yum!
Asparagus! I love it! And it’s the season for this wonderful vegetable! I have a couple of recipes - one roasting and another grilling - which are simple and good!
