by Sarah Irani
This is my first post with the Eat Local Challenge group! Let me introduce myself: I live in Maryland, which is usually classified as the Mid-Atlantic, but I suppose that Northeast will suffice. My husband and I were married only six months ago and are trying to establish healthy home habits at the outset. This is the first year for a garden together. We don't have a very large yard, so we are planting in containers and two small raised beds.
We have signed up with Summer Creek Farm's community supported agriculture (CSA) program, but won't be getting our food until June. We try to eat locally as much as possible, but it is so challenging in the long winter months. I have grown weary of potatoes, rutabagas and venison and my darling husband is allergic to carrots. Plus, we have completely run out of venison.
We are traveling to Michigan in May to visit my folks and hope to replenish our supply. My parents also raise turkeys, so we'd like to stock up with that as well.
We are doing our part to reduce our ecological footprint, so we are taking the train to Michigan. It is a thirteen-hour trip from Maryland, only three hours more than by car. I am not sure how our giant cooler of frozen meat is going to survive the trip! With the current price of gas right now, it is actually much cheaper to take the train.
This first signs of spring on Maryland's farm has arrived. The other day we were doing our usual shopping at the Common Market, a great co-op in Frederick, Maryland, when lo and behold -- local romaine lettuce!
I am also a professional sculptor by trade and you can see more on my website!
