Dark Days Challenge: A simple brunch

by Jen Maiser, Editor

My dark days meal this week was eaten standing up, while I was packing for a trip. The fridge was quite empty, and I needed sustenance to get me through a couple hours of hurrying -- packing, cleaning, and getting ready for the holiday -- before I could relax in Southern California with the family.

You may notice from the photo above that smoked salmon is on the plate. The salmon is from Alaska. And I live in San Francisco. But the truth is that I always consider the fish in my freezer to be "local" in a family sort of way. My dad lives in Alaska, and about once a year he ships me fish that he has caught. While I understand that this doesn't meet the food miles requirement of eating locally, I do believe that it meets the spirit of local eating: knowing where your food is coming from, and understanding what it took to get to your plate.

The rest of the meal looks pretty boring: steamed potatoes with pepper, hard-boiled eggs, and cottage cheese. But it was perfection on a Saturday morning when I was in a hurry (and truthfully, craving protein after a very fun beer tasting the night before). The cottage cheese was creamy and rich, the eggs flavorful, and the potatoes a perfect foil for the salty salmon.