www.eatlocalchallenge.com

Hitting the Sweet Spot

by Cookiecrumb

Everything tastes good! Even my savory dishes are inexplicably sweet, but not in a sugary way. Butter tastes sweet. Onions taste sweet. By god, the other day, hamburger tasted sweet.

Sweet! Oh my.

Last year I described the transformation I experienced after a month of eating locally as "rehab for my taste buds."

I haven't used sugar for 10 months, except for the occasional gummi bear, so I guess I have a whole new definition of "sweet."

I attribute this sensation not only to restricting my food to the 100-mile foodshed, but to the undeniable fact that the food is fresher — because it's local! Fresh peas are sweet. Fresh fish is sweet. Fresh yogurt is sweet.

On Quitting the Challenge

by Cookiecrumb

About four days ago, I decided to quit the Eat Local Challenge.

I made myself a burrito with non-local ingredients to celebrate.

Then I realized, aw, darn, the cheese was local.

No matter how hard I might try to be a non-participant, I find I eat locally most of the time anyway, whether I try to or not.

And that is because of my participation in the Challenge last year — it completely changed the way I shop for food.

Time for Lunchtime

by Cookiecrumb

So here I am, merrily flouncing my way through ELC 2006. I haven’t fallen off the wagon even once, and all of a sudden that feels very embarrassing to me.

The only exceptions I declared for the month are salt and tea (I erroneously declared wine, forgetting that, um, I live pretty close to wine country). And I have my own source of local salt, if I choose to use it. (Soon, I promise.)

I have no genuine reason to feel embarrassed about my diet: All these great foodstuffs are available in my area; it’s just lucky for me (more than lucky, it’s intentional – it’s why I live here).

But when I read the remarks of other ELC participants who are stumbling through this endeavor for the first time, or who live in areas not as well blessed as the Bay Area, I wince.

Think Outside the Spice Cupboard

by Cookiecrumb

By now, more than a few Eat Local participants have addressed the spice conundrum: “Most spices aren’t local, but they really make my food taste better. Besides, I already have a bunch on hand, and I’m not exactly putting any local cinnamon growers out of business by using them.”

I would never argue that you shouldn’t use your spices during May. I’m not going to use anything imported myself (just bein’ a purist), but as one clever blogger concluded, they don’t really cost that much to ship, being so lightweight, and you don’t really use huge quantities. In other words, a lot of bang for the petroleum buck.

At this point I could digress into talking about the medieval Spice Trade, which opened up international commerce, as a result establishing new routes of travel, new cities (for overnighting travelers), new cravings, a new class division in cuisines. Heh. Early globalism.

But, nah.

Why I Do It

by Cookiecrumb

Last summer, shortly before the August Eat Local Challenge began, I went gleefully, manically shopping for pantry items like vinegar and mustard that were locally made by small companies.

I began dreaming up menus of dishes that would use produce from local farmers. Delirious inventiveness, oh joy.

I even found some grape leaves growing in my neighborhood, untended, and brought a bunch home to brine and then freeze for later (this was still July, after all, and I wanted to eat locally in August, dammit).

It was fun. No, I mean it was really loads of fun. A project! A plan! Structure, strategy, merit badges for my Girl Scout sash.

Looking back on it, it was also a game to me.

How well would I play? Could I outplay the others? Could I think of any way to “win”?