The family survived. Not 100% local, but much thought and consideration went into a menu that could provide a variety of ingredients from 100 miles around Sacramento, with only a few exceptions.
My husband and I hosted brunch for his family today. His family is a meat and potatoes kind of clan so I was a bit tentative serving only local items, especially since I had not done much research on local meats. I had been thinking about the menu for several weeks, however, and came up with brunch items that would go over well.
The menu ended up as:
- Snap peas, carrots and almonds (with non local ranch dressing)
- Scrambled eggs
- Bacon from San Joaquin County
- Red potatoes with garden rosemary, backyard orange and non local pepper and olive oil
- Sweet french bread baked locally (except for mine, which was gluten free)
- Spring mix salad with local walnuts (and non local dried cranberries-they were out of dried cherries!)
- White cheddar cheese
- Local honey and home canned plum jam
- Strawberries (on top of non local shortcakes and of course, Cool Whip)
- Various non local beverages
I made my, “this meal is primarily locally sourced” speech and of course the family immediately looks at the bottles of dressing on the table. And then I offer my disclaimer that it was as local as I could do. Oh well!
My participation in the ELC is for several reasons. In addition to being roped in by my longtime friend, Jen (thanks, Jen!) I am somewhat of an environmentalist. But my goal is to be a practical environmentalist, trying to find simple, easy and effective ways to make a difference on a daily basis.
Eating locally is a no brainer with this philosophy. Opportunities
for enrichment and education are always a good thing, and knowing where
your food comes from and then doing something about that can make an
impact. In my professional life as a clean air
advocate, I am always asking the public to make simple, everyday
choices that create less air pollution, resulting in healthier
lifestyles. Eating locally can provide many of those same benefits, and it comes down to choice.
I am personally motivated to be an environmental steward, but recognize that this is not important to everyone. So how, as those motivated, do we make the choices easier for everyone else? This should be our next step. The balance between practicality and efficiency, and long term environmental and economic impacts is always up for consideration. Participating in this challenge is an educational step in the right direction. How do we take this ELC to a global marketplace while protecting environmental health?
Jennifer Finton is an environmental steward and professional clean air advocate, making a difference, one bite, native plant and bike ride at a time.
