An Almost Local Breakfast Sandwich

This week’s selection from the Gourmet Live 50 Women Game-Changers that I and a group of my fellow food bloggers post about each Friday hits close to home. Not that our subject, Severine von Tscharner Fleming, is from my corner of the Midwest. (She lives in Hudson Valley, New York.) However, she has dedicated her life to farming and the recruitment and promotion of new young farmers. In fact, she directed The Greenhorns, a documentary film focused on those newbie farmers, which gave birth to a non-profit organization that promotes the same mission.


I come from a long line of farmers. In fact, my parents live on the farm that was started more than 100 years ago by my great grandparents. As a food writer, I’ve interviewed many small family farmers who grow produce, dairy, and meats, which are often times free from preservatives and chemicals. I enjoy buying local, organic products and supporting the efforts of these farmers. It’s a cause I feel is important as a food lover and consumer who wants to keep my money inside the local community.

For this week’s recipe, I clicked on a link listed on The Greenhorns website that took me to Farm Girl Farm in Egremont, MA. Farmer Laura Meister runs a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program where members pay for a share of the harvest of vegetables and fruit, plus put in a few hours of work on the farm. Each week they get a box full of the farm’s fruits and vegetables.

The Farm Girl Farm’s website has a number of recipes to help members use-up their weekly bounty. The one that caught my attention was the Locally Grown Breakfast Sandwich. Besides the expected eggs, bacon, and bread on the ingredient list, there also were veggies such as salad greens, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Since I’d never considered adding vegetables to a breakfast sandwich, I decided to give it a try.

It’s hard to find local products in Topeka at this time of year. In April, when the farmer’s market opens each Saturday, there will be an abundance of area-produced eggs, meats, breads, fruits, vegetables, and other food products. But now, not so much. So I bought Kansas-made cheese and bread, and bacon from Wisconsin. For the rest I settled for organic.

The sandwich was wonderful—and I’m not a big fan of breakfast. The flavors were bright and fresh thanks to the baby salad greens and the little bit of chives I added to the mayonnaise. My husband liked it, too, which says a lot since he is a pretty picky eater. I’m already looking forward to having another one this weekend!

Locally Grown Breakfast Sandwich

Adapted from Farm Girl Farm recipe

Bacon

Eggs
Sliced bread
Cheddar cheese, grated
Mayonnaise
Chives
Baby greens—either salad greens or bitter green mix
Tomatoes, cucumbers, or any other favorite veggie
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

Cook the bacon until crispy and drain on paper towels. Fry eggs and toast bread. Place grated cheese on top of fried egg to melt. Dice chives and mix into mayonnaise. Spread chive mayonnaise on one side of both toast pieces. Add a layer of baby greens on one of the toast slices, then bacon, egg with cheese, and more greens. Top with second toast slice. Enjoy!

Be sure to check out my fellow food bloggers to see what they prepared to honor Severine von Tscharner Fleming:

Val - More Than Burnt Toast
Joanne - Eats Well With Others
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan - The Spice Garden
Claudia -A Seasonal Cook in Turkey
Heather - girlichef
Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney
Jeanette - Healthy Living
April - Abby Sweets
Katie -Making Michael Pollan Proud
Mary - One Perfect Bite
Kathleen -Bake Away with Me
Viola - The Life is Good Kitchen
Sue - The View from Great Island
Barbara - Movable Feasts
Kathleen - Gonna Want Seconds
Amy - Beloved Green
Jeanette - Healthy Living
Linda - Ciao Chow Linda
Nancy - Picadillo
Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits
Claudia – Journey of An Italian Cook
Alyce – More Time at the Table
Amrita – Beetle’s Kitchen Escapades