www.eatlocalchallenge.com

Eating the Lawn

by Heather C.

Here in Ohio it seemed impossible to participate in the Penny-Wise Eat Local Challenge.  The farmer's markets in my area don't open until July.  We are still about a month away from the frost-free date for planting.  About the only thing growing here is grass.  Then I remembered a scene from my childhood.  My neighbor, who was a botany professor, always used to go outside and pick greens from his lawn for a salad.  It used to freak me out as a kid to eat plants that I "knew" were weeds.  But now I pay good money for gourmet salad greens so maybe it is time to reinvestigate eating the lawn.

The Joys of Cider

by Heather C.

Apple cider is starting to appear in the stores of the local orchards.  It is estimated that in the United States over 12,000,000 gallons of apple cider are made each year by small orchards.  That doesn't even  include the larger amount made by national companies. 

With so much cider available people have become very inventive in using it.  Beside just drinking it cold there are many versions of hot mulled ciders.  Here is just one version to get you started.

In praise of a fleeting moment

by Heather C.

  In the last week signs saying "Sweet Corn" have begun sprouting up all over in my area.  This is a season that I wait all year to experience.  Sure, I eat frozen corn in the winter but I wait until July to eat corn fresh off the cob.  Corn bought out of season in a store just can't compare. 
  In a way I wish it did.  At times I get cravings for fresh corn and know that I need to wait for months to get it again.  Isn't the desire that grocery stores are attempting to fill by stocking out of season produce?

It is catching on!

by Heather C.

I was finally able to go to a farmer's market this weekend!  The markets here are now open and the one I went to is twice as large as it was last year.  The diversity of the vegetables available and the professionalism of the packaging is also increasing and that seems to be causing some concerns among shoppers.

One lady was selling hydroponic cucumbers and tomatoes.  I know this because she had boxes that had that printed on the side.  The cucumbers were also shrink wrapped.  This gave me pause before buying because I wasn't sure if they were local.  Apparantly I wasn't the only one with that concern.

The Mobility Challenge

by Heather C.

There have been posts on this site about the challenges of eating locally if you don't have the money to pay premiums for local food or if you don't have the time or skill to cook from scratch.  I've recently found out about one more challenge - mobility.

I started with with specific goals for the challenge.  I found sources for local eggs.  I was going to plant a garden.  Everything was going according to plan and then I got hurt.  For the next several weeks I'm using crutches and a wheelchair to get around.  What does that have to do with eating locally?  As it turns out, everything. 

Is ignorance bliss?

by Heather C.

The premise of the Eat Local Challenge is that knowledge is power when it comes to your food choices.  Most people are disconnected from the food that they eat.  We spend a lot of time talking here about where the food comes from.  I think that there is also a need to educate people on what food is.

I've heard reports that say that people don't make the connection between a package of pork in the supermarket and a pig.  Maybe I'm naive but I thought that was an anomoly and not the norm.  But lately when discussing local food issues I've found out for myself that many people deliberately choose not to think about the sources of their food.  Is ignorance bliss?

The Great Egg Hunt

by Heather C.

One of my goals for this month's challenge was to find a source of local eggs.  I live in an area where local eggs does not necessarily mean humanely raised chickens.   I'm amending my goal to say that I want to find a source of eggs from free-ranging happy pet chickens preferably belonging to a lady in a gingham dress. 

Driving around I've seen small signs in front yards advertising eggs for sale.  I wanted to find my eggs in an area that I normally drive through so I don't need to make special trips.  How hard could that be?  You see Eggs For Sale signs all the time around here.

Now I know that Eggs For Sale signs are a bit like the Loch Ness Monster.  The only people who see it are the ones who aren't looking.

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.