Local Folk

Preplanning meals is very important but also thinking about what kind of food you are making for the time of year is also very important. The concept of cooking "in-season" is such a brilliant idea, and yet it escaped me until very recently. My mom bought me a great cookbook called "Simply In Season" and it has become a new favorite. Traditional cookbooks are organized by category: main courses, soups, appetizers, desserts, etc...This cookbook is organized by season, and lists recipes that contain mostly foods that you can buy when they are in season from a local farmer's market or farmer. Brilliant, right? I wish all cookbooks were organized this way!

When we shop for produce in a grocery store, we are purchasing food that has been shipped from all over the country, or world, which uses a lot of a variety of resources. We don't know exactly how that food is grown, how the soil is prepared, what the people are like who raise it, and how the production of that food affects the land. If we buy from our local farmer, we are not only saving those resources but getting fresher, healthier food and supporting local farmers and community. We are making a statement about how we want our food produced. The more people who pick up on this concept, the greater the support for the local farmer and the less demand for use of resources to ship our food.

While I had great ambitions of starting a small garden this year, it didn't happen. I hope to next summer and despite my lack of a green thumb, I'm optimistic for at least a few things to grow. My family did join a CSA this year, which has been such a neat experience we have loved and will continue in future years. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. It is a community of individuals who come together to support a particular farm operation by purchasing a weekly share of the produce from that farm. You pay money up front for the cost of the farming and farmer's salary, and pick up a share each week of produce that has been grown. Typically, a season runs from late spring to early fall. There is satisfaction in supporting a local farmer and having some connection with the land and food you eat. For us, we can see where our food is grown, know the farmers who are tending the land and raising it, ask questions about the food, and share with others in the process. You also share the risk of pests or weather ruining the crops but the benefit of the bounty is amazing. This summer we have had so much produce every week that we've had to search for new recipes. Despite loving fruits and vegetables I've tried many new things this summer that I never had before like bok choy, okra, kale, collard greens, kohlrabi (I didn't even know that word existed before), yellow and orange watermelon, various colors and varieties of tomatoes and eggplant. It's been incredible! Here is a picture of a recent share.

There are over 2000 CSA's in our country! If you don't know of local farmers in your area or if you have CSA's available check out this website: localharvest.org. You can enter your zip code and get all kinds of information about what is available in your area.

Regardless of whether you join a CSA or not, look up where you can go for local produce. Try buying as much as possible in season and limiting what you cook that is out of season. It does save money too because the cost of local in-season produce is much cheaper that buying shipped out of season produce. As much as I want strawberries in the winter, they are too expensive and not as tasty. I'll have to wait until June! Now is the time for me to stock up on apples, make and freeze as much applesauce as possible to last through the winter. I'm also freezing local green beans and peppers. I don't know how to can and I'm sure there is much more I could do but I think that every little thing I can do is better than nothing.

So think along the lines of a local county's theme: Buy Fresh, Buy Local!