www.eatlocalchallenge.com

hi: an intro

by Lucette

I'm a teacher and a writer, long-time gardener, have always been interested in cooking, but never thought much about eating locally until I started reading food blogs a couple of years ago. I did the August eat local challenge last year, but I didn't have a blog then, so this is my first opportunity to sound off about it. Last year, I just bugged everyone I knew, asking them if they'd thought about how far that apricot had come, etc.

We're lucky to have a number of farm markets in the Cleveland area, so I'm hoping to find exciting sustenance--the first one opened last Saturday, and I'm planning my first visit on April 29, to stock up. I have some things frozen from last year (applesauce, pesto, whole cherry tomatoes, peach jam, tomato sauce), some things canned by my boyfriend's father (peaches, tomatoes), and a fair amount of dried herbs.

Local Halibut

by Claire Tompkins

Taking on this challenge has given me a good reason to talk to the farmers at my local market (Grand Lake in Oakland, CA), although I'm usually too shy to do that.  I had a chat with the fishmonger there (can't remember the company name) and bought some local halibut from him, which I'm relieved to discover (after the fact) is on the Seafood Watch guide as a "Best Choice."  I find fish a little challenging to cook, but this halibut was fantastic.  I look forward to trying it again. 

Claire is an enthusiastic backyard gardener.  Her nascent blog is here:  www.organiclifeblog.com

How 'bout These

by VI

Jen brings up a good point with the question of spices and eating local.  Even if you have local herbs and chili powder, what about black pepper?  Can we eat without black pepper?  I cannot.  But the spice question makes me think about a whole host of things:

• Coffee (even if roasted locally?)
• Olive oil--as my wife sez, should we restrict ourselves to lard because of the abundance of pigs in the Midwest.
• Vinegar
• Sweeteners--here my wife and I decided we are going to try and cook as much as possible with local honeys, syrups and jams.

Without sounding pithy, what about this: Morton salt is based in Chicago, local for me?  Same with Domino sugar?

I'm In

by VI

I thought I'll be doing enough posting on eating local.  I thought I'd make my first post on not eating local.  I have a big weakness.

I have a fall CSA.  I have a spring CSA.  Once the farmer's markets are up and running in the Chicago area, I will visit at least weekly.  I have freezers full of last year's red peppers.  My basement lays waste to sprouting root vegetables not quite worked through.  I have piles of jams purchased at farm stores all around.  I made my family live on apples for months.  Heck, I visit the dollar store because they sell potatoes from Wisconsin.  But I do this.

I buy prepared salads.  All the time.  I visit often Polish or Russian deli's in the parts of Chicago I frequent. 

Spices!

by Jennifer Maiser

One of the largest areas of disparity during last year's eat local challenge was how participants chose to deal with spices.  Some did their best using only the spices in their local foodshed, some put spices in their exceptions, and some adamantly used spices from outside the area stating that spices have always been foreign, and they weren't going to try and change that with the Eat Local Challenge.

How are you going to address spices during your eat local challenge?

I have not completely decided about this, and am fairly torn about what to do.  On one hand, the Bay Area has a good enough variety of herbs, some spices (mostly chile powders), and condiments that I should be able to do without outside spices. 

Eating local in Ohio

by Heather C.

My first experience with the concept of eating seasonally and locally was with sweet corn.  I came from a corn growing area where stands sprouted on roadsides when the crop was ready.  You gorged yourself because when it was gone it was gone.  No grocery store carried corn on the cob.  When I went to school in TN I found corn on the cob in the store.  I was so excited that I could eat it more often.  But it tasted awful.  I thought I cooked it wrong but soon realized that that was the difference between fresh from the farm and store-bought.

I did the Eat Local challenge in August last year.  That changed my way of thinking about food.  I live in central Ohio surrounded by corn fields but never explored the food sources in my area. 

Ladies & Gentlemen, We Have the Year's First Farmer's Market Buy

by Lisa D.

I have been so excited waiting for the farmer's markets to begin that I've been driving past the North Market on busy Saturday mornings, just to see if there was any movement.  Yesterday I was rewarded - it might only be mesclun mix, but it's something.  Today's lettuce comes from Toad Hill Organics, which also provides many items for Alana's restaurant (surely Columbus' premier supporter and instigator of local product usage), including her "house" salad with the Toad Hill Organic greens, carrots, raisins, etc.  Toad Hill had farm-fresh eggs, the beautiful mesclun mix pictured above, spinach and Asian greens for stir-frying available at Saturday's Market.  They were also cooking up scrambled eggs and stir-fry.  For a mostly complete list of Central Ohio farmer's markets, click here.

Lettuce Bowls

by Sherrill

Living in the Northwest (Washington State), our winters are pretty mild, so once I can get lettuce or other cool-weather crops going, I'm out in the garden doing so. 

This year, I decided to put my lettuce in containers on the deck (far from any slugs that could find it), where it can get morning and late afternoon sun, keeping the "heat of the day" off the tender leaves.  Also, just walking out to the deck to pick off what I need while dinner is cooking is a bonus. 

One cup of Romaine lettuce has 8 calories, 0.58 gram protein, 1.0 gram fiber, 16 mg calcium, 116 mg potassium, 11.3 mg vitamin C, 64 mcg folate, 48.2 mcg of vitamin K, 1637 mcg beta carotene and 1087 mcg of lutein + zeaxanthin. (USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory)

Enjoy!

Sherrill ~ aka:  BaaBonnyBelle

Full Circle, Almost

by Laurie O.

In the swamp country of southeastern North Carolina where I grew up, it was common for each family to have a small vegetable garden in which they grew food for their own consumption.  Our cash crops had already moved to the monocultures of tobacco, field corn, and soybeans, but you could count on eating fresh, frozen, and canned vegetables from the garden all year long.  Plenty of swapping went on as well - neighbors gave us sweet potatoes and collard greens, and they were free to pick blueberries in our bountiful patch. 

We lived near the coast, and my father was an accomplished fisherman of red drum. He bought shrimp directly from the small boats that came to his small marina and mechanic shop near Calabash, N.C.  Eggs came from our next-door neighbor and milk came from Mr. Cook's cow down the road.  Hunters on our farm occasionally provided us with venison.

First Local Produce Arrives!

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.