Monday, December 6, 2010

Locally Inspired

I've already read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle once. But I wanted the Hubster to read it too. Lately he's been talking about wanting to buy a small farm someday where we can grow our own veggies, have a few chickens, and maybe even have a cow for milk. So I knew this book would be right up his alley.

On our recent trip to an out of town 10 mile road race, we began listening to the audio book. We both love audio books and I felt like we needed a break from our current one, The Mists of Avalon.

I love this book and I love hearing the author narrate. Her voice is calm and reassuring but you can feel her passion for the subject matter...eating locally.

So now I am re-inspired to eat more local items. I'm not espousing an all or nothing philosophy. I cannot embrace a lifestyle devoid of olive oil, chocolate, coffee, and international spices. But I do think we can all make better choices and buy some items locally. And, as I believe I've stated in a previous post, local, fresh food tastes soooooooo much better than conventionally grown posers.

I just put in my weekly order with Papa Spuds. This week we will be getting chard, kale, oyster mushrooms, black walnuts, flour, and cauliflower.....all local and pesticide free.

This week I plan to make:
  • Kale chips. These are super simple and delicious. You just toss chopped kale leaves in EVOO, S&P and bake until crispy.
  • Chard and mushroom quinoa. I found a recipe online that I'm gonna try.
  • Roasted cauliflower casserole
  • Oatmeal and fresh cranberry muffins (with local oats I already have, the new flour, and fresh cranberries that are not local but are worth the splurge once a year.)
This weekend, after I return home from yet another trip out of town (my 3rd weekend OOTer in a row), I plan to purchase some local eggs and maybe some goat cheese.

Sunday I think Cakewalk will make us some homemade dough for pizza. I also may try my hand at cheese again for the pies. I have local buttermilk ready to be cheese-ified. (This is the easiest cheese EVER to make....you simply heat up buttermilk to a specific temp that I cannot recall right now and then scoop out the cheese as it develops. It ends up looking and tasting a bit like crumbled feta.)

I'm so excited! I'm even asking for two related books for Christmas: Local Flavors and Home Cheese Making.

Do you buy any local foods? Does your area have a local speciality?

4 comments:

  1. yumm...that cranberry muffins sound good. So...would that be considered a "good" breakfast? One that is healthy and filling possibly? I'm looking for good breakfast items...and muffins we can make ahead of time and eat whenever ya know?

    My SIL loves Kale...I've never had it. MAYBE i'll try it sometime just for kicks :-)

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  2. I hope the muffins are good. I just googled "cranberry oatmeal muffins" because I knew I had the oatmeal and the cranberries on hand. I'm going to try the first recipe that popped up. I already have all of the ingredients for it!

    I do have a favorite muffin recipe that comes from one of my cookbooks. It's basically a low-sugar, oatmeal muffin that has jam baked into the center.

    Yes, some muffins can be part of a good breakfast. But I wouldn't count any of the ones that you purchase. Even the "healthy" ones probably have WAY too many calories and additives. But if you make your own using a high fiber, low sugar recipe, they can be good for you. Then I would just add some cottage cheese and a piece of fruit for a complete breakfast.

    Just don't make the muffins and leave them sitting out where you are tempted to eat them all the time.... Trust me, been there! ;)

    As for kale to be honest, I don't care for it usually. I only like it two ways. I LOVE kale chips and I like it in a hearty winter soup. I honestly think most people would enjoy the kale chips even if they think they hate greens. And kale is very very good for you, as it is one of the prime leafy greens!

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  3. I think it's important to differentiate between local grown and organic though. Right now I care more about organic... not that I'm good about it. I was kind of disappointed in Papa Spuds for not having more organic options in the foods that it matters. I mean it's great that they offer organic bananas except that is one of the few fruits that it doesn't matter.

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  4. You are correct, there is a difference between local and organic food. A food can be local without being organic and a food can be organic without being local (which is more and more common these days.) However, in general, many local foods ARE grown/produced organically (without pesticides and preservatives) but may not be certified organic, due to the legal procedures involved with the certification.

    If you are just weighing your food choices on health, then strictly speaking, organic is the better choice over something that is local but not pesticide free. I honestly rarely find myself making this call, because it doesn't come up too often. A consumer may also be considering freshness, taste, quality, and environmental concerns, which would usually lean more towards local choices over something grown organically in another continent. But, as you mentioned, organic may be the most important factor. But remember that a food may be "organic" even if it isn't certified. Many of the items on Papa Spuds may say "pesticide free" but won't say "organic" for instance. Or, if you visit a local farmers market, talk to the seller/farmer/food provider and find out if they practice organically. Many do. Then you can spend your money on food that is BOTH organic and local.

    Papa Spuds and CSA's both have their limitations, true enough. I scan the choices every week to see what is available and make my choices from there. The options will vary depending on what is in season and what is available.

    I don't know what you mean by food that matters. Do you mean produce on the Dirty Dozen list? That is simply a guide for the foods with the most pesticides. But other foods still matter. The list also doesn't include non-produce foods, which I believe are even more important to be organic. Milk and meat, for example.

    I hope this helps! Keep up the good work! Every time you choose organic or local or whatever you are making a good choice, even if you don't/can't do it all the time! ;)

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