"At home I serve the kind of food I know the story behind." ~ Michael Pollan

When I selected this month's BITE theme as "local foods", I was unaware that in many circles, September is considered "Local Foods Month"!  I suppose that it makes sense though, considering that summer's bounty has just about reached its pinnacle in September.  If you have been following along with me, you know that I have been preparing for my main course of tomato sauce and pasta for quite some time.  You can refer back to my previous posts in order to find the local sources of my ingredients, but they all came together wonderfully.  I would have to say that the only thing I would have done differently would have been to make the pasta a bit thicker.  Even though the sauce was thin (which is how I prefer it), the pasta was a bit delicate.

We began with a selection of local beverages.  We live in the heart of Finger Lakes country, which is home to some amazing vineyards and wineries.  I chose two wines, and one grape-juice to accompany our meal.

~Sync, from Anyela's Vineyards; Dry Riesling, from Knapp Winery;
Seedless Concord Grape Juice, from Heron Hill Winery~

Ellen arrived with her appetizer of bruschetta and salsa, directly from her garden - a bit difficult to provide a recipe - just pick and chop!

A burst of  fresh summer flavor!

Chris provided our side-dishes, with ingredients also from her garden and the Homer Farmer's Market.  Please forgive me, Chris, for not getting a photo of your beautiful ratatouille!  I don't know how that happened! Here is the photo that accompanies Saveur's recipe, which is the one that Chris followed - absolutely delicious.

www.saveur.com

Next, her Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Cranberries and Candied Pecans, was just wonderful - all so fresh and flavorful.  We are all in agreement that roasted vegetables are the new candy.

~ salad alongside my pasta and sauce~

And to close out our "local meal", Tierney presented us with a magazine-cover worthy treat - Red Wine and Ginger Poached Pears. (click on link to find out Tierney's local sources)

What can I say other than that while absolutely delicious,  this was probably the healthiest meal that we have prepared so far!  It just burst with fresh summer flavors from beginning to end!

Next month - Transylvania!