Amy McCoy likes to keep up with food and sustainability news. And she should – as the blogger of Pour Girl Gourmet and the leader of Slow Food Rhode Island, she keeps up with the local and national scene of the food movement. Amy created an account with Twitter a few months ago, and through the service, she recently found out about a recipe contest sponsored by Regionalbest.com. The contest, “Asparagus Lovers Unite for Obama!” searched for the best asparagus recipe in America and was designed as a fun way to support the Obama’s efforts to get more green into the White House. They contest also tried to help President Obama discover new ways to enjoy asparagus. (you may find asparagus growing in the White House garden, but you won’t find it on the President’s plate).
Amy’s Pancetta, Asparagus and Sundried Tomato Sandwich was not only proclaimed as the best sandwich of his life by Amy’s husband, but it also won RegionalBest.com’s Grand Prize in May. Her recipe and seven regional recipes will be sent to the White House with hopes of convincing the president to give asparagus another chance. Amy found out that she won the contest through a notice on Twitter, and since then she has been enjoying the grand prize winnings – delicacies sent to her by RegionalBest.com.
When she’s not tending to her vegetable garden or planning projects for her local chapter, Amy is developing recipes for her forthcoming cookbook, a collection of recipes for 4 people that cost $15 or less. Amy’s recipes focus on seasonal ingredients and items found at the supermarket, and her goal is to de-mystify cooking and help make it a fun and low-cost activity.
“The Challenge is keeping it to $15 without having so many stipulations, such as cutting coupons, or time-intensive activities such as making your own beans,” Amy said. She experiments with vegetables on a daily basis, and recently learned from a neighbor that it’s okay to eat the leaves of nasturtium flowers, and she made a delicious pesto using them. Her book, tentatively titled The Poor Girl Gourmet Cookbook, will be published next year.
Amy is following Slow Food USA on Twitter. You can too! Click here.
