Eating Local or, Why I Love My Neighbors

I love walking down the 27 stairs from my front door and onto Circle Avenue, balancing a bowl of salad or toting a freshly baked focaccia, on my way to a small gathering of friends in the neighborhood. In my world, I get to do this often.

Recently, a dozen or so of us wound up in the “shed,” a vamped up tool shed that’s been transformed with a wood stove, a collection of rustic masks peering out at guests from makeshift paneling on rough-hewn walls, musical instruments gathered from my friends’ world travels, and a funny assortment of dinnerware for the soups and stews we share out there (I especially like drinking red wine from an earthenware cup meant for hot tea). There’s even a dart board, and sometimes an impromptu jam session starts up but mostly we sit around the fire and gab.

At Hannukah, neighbors came together at a cozy house perched on the top of a hill overlooking Elm Avenue, where family mixed with friends, old folks mixed with tots, and Jews, Christians, agnostics and who knows what else would have agreed that building community and sharing an evening of food and friendship can be a holy thing regardless of your religion or lack thereof.

New Year’s Day brought the annual black eyed peas and greens (plus potluck) party a few houses down. I’m not sure those black-eyed peas, purported to bring financial success, have worked on my bank account, but they surely have brought me the good fortune to continue to be part of this rich, moveable feast of friends. Besides, the Hoppin’ John, as these peas and rice are known in the South, is delicious, ladled from an enormous pot (two, actually – your choice, vegetarian or sausage), dashed all over with hot sauce and paired with beer (choose from the cooler on the back porch).

These cold, dark months are perfect for gathering people together and stoking the warmth of friendship and community. In a couple of weeks, our neighborhood – a few suburban blocks of young families, middle aged folks like me and a handful older sages (who really should come out more often!) will hold our annual progressive potluck. We all troupe out into the cold laden with dishes for potluck-style sharing: we land at one home for appetizers, then dig out the hats and scarves to walk a block or so to the main course, and the third location hosts dessert. Even if I can’t remember everyone’s names I love seeing these familiar faces each year, and watching how the children grow from babes in arms to toddlers and then teens.

Here is my new favorite potluck dish. I like it because it’s vegetarian (to accommodate many of my neighbors, friends, and my own preference to limit meat consumption) – and though it is a little time-consuming, I tend to find time to sweep up the kitchen floor, fold the laundry or finish washing the dishes in between stirring the barley. The recipe is based on one from Cooking Light.

Barley Risotto with Eggplant and Tomatoes
One medium eggplant, cut into ½-inch dice
1 pint cherry tomatoes
3 tblspns olive oil, divided
½ teaspn black pepper, divided (or however much you like)
5 cups veggie broth
2 cups water
1-1/2 onions, finely chopped
1 cup uncooked pearl barley
2 teaspns minced garlic
½ cup dry white wine
¼ teaspn salt
½ cup (2 oz) crumbled soft goat cheese (I like locally made Cherry Glen)
¼ cup thinly sliced fresh basil (I use dry in winter)
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
Combine eggplant, tomatoes, 2 tblspns olive oil and ¼ teaspn pepper in a bowl; toss to coat. Arrange in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan (or cookie sheet) and bake @ 400 for 20 minutes or until tomatoes begin to collapse and eggplant is tender. Set aside.
Combine broth and 2 cups water in a saucepan; bring to a simmer and keep warm.
Heat remaining 1 tblspn oil in a large skillet on medium-high. Saute onion until it begins to brown; stir in barley and garlic and cook another minute. Add wine and cook until liquid almost evaporates, stirring constantly. Add 1 cup of broth mixture to pan, bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook five minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Keep doing this with broth, one cup at a time, until all of it is used up (yep, this takes a while – I allow an hour for this dish from start to finish).
When the risotto has absorbed all the liquid, take it off the heat and add the eggplant mixture, combining gently. Season with remaining pepper, salt to taste, and top with pine nuts, basil and cheese.
Tote this dish down to your neighbors’ – or invite them to your place -- and enjoy.