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Lazy Locavores

The NY Times ran this article on "lazy locavores"; people who want to eat as locally as possible, without much (or any) effort. People in larger cities are now hiring people to grow and tend organic gardens in their back yards, or having locally grown produce boxes delivered to their cubicles, or having the chefs at their summer homes use only local ingredients. Yeah, just the other day I was telling our chef that I wanted him to seek out local caviar...

But seriously, here in the real world, I don't think it requires that much effort to make local food choices. And I say this knowing that I come from a place of extreme privilege in that my husband and I are middle class, and I have the luxury of staying home with my children for now and that gives me more time to prepare food than normal. Actually, it's only a little more time than I had when I was living with my husband and still working outside the home, but a lot more time than I had as a single working mother. However, eating locally can be integrated into most people's lifestyles, at least in some way. Farmer's Markets are all over Louisville these days, and what could be easier than a CSA? I will say that I would like to see more CSA's follow the model of Grasshopper's and allow people to split their share fee into several payments. $400 is a big outlay at once, and many, many people don't have that.

This isn't a contest, seeing who can eat the most local food. It's a principle of healthy eating and stewarding the planet that people can integrate into their daily lives in whatever ways they are able. We can't all grow our own big gardens like Barbara Kingsolver. We can't all instruct our personal chefs to buy local ingredients. But we can all do what works for us, and that's what I'd like to encourage people to strive for.

This line from the NY Times article caught my eye: “It’s a very savvy crowd that understands how all the pieces of sustainable farming and nutrition fit together,” At first, it just stroked my ego about how savvy I am. :) But I really don't agree with the statement, because it reeks of elitism. You don't have to know all about sustainable agriculture and carbon emissions and nutritional values of organic vs. conventional food to make the choice to eat local. Many people do it because, duh, it tastes better and just makes intuitive sense to eat the food that grows in your region seasonally. It just feels right to eat more like our great-grandparents did, doesn't it? It doesn't seem normal to me anymore to eat bananas in Kentucky. And I won't do it, no matter how much I love banana splits. And here's the thing, simply choosing not to eat bananas is making a local foods choice. And it didn't cost me a dime ...

Berry Pickin'

On Wednesday, the kiddos and I headed to Indiana to pick blueberries. This has apparently been an epic season for blueberries in this area, and I wasn't about to let it slip away without stocking the freezer with berry goodness. We went to Bryant's Blueberries in New Salisbury, IN, a short half hour away from the 'Ville.

I strapped Baby Wednesday into the front wrap carrier, and coated Caleb with sunblock. We picked up the handy containers the Bryants' provide and headed into the bushes. We would be picking BlueRays today. (I had never even given thought to the fact that there are different varieties of blueberries!) It was a gorgeous morning, not too hot, with a slight breeze. And the berries were "ripe for the pickin'". Caleb and I began filling our buckets, and I thought we were all having a grand time!

But apparently, berry picking is not much fun for the preschool set, and Caleb quickly reached maximum whine level. Then Wednesday let me know she needed a diaper change ... It was time to head back to the car. But I wanted more blueberries! We weighed our berries, went to the car, changed a diaper, and made a deal: Caleb could bow out of picking and simply snack on his pretzels while I picked, as long as he didn't whine.

Another hour or so later, I was finally done picking. The final total weight of picked berries: 11.66 pounds. Total cost: $22.16 Yay!!

I borrowed Mom's Seal A Meal and have stored many bags of delicious, local, hand picked blueberries for winter use. But not before I made a pie!

And who knows, I may be back at the farm on Saturday to pick more ...

Salsa

We had several tomatoes from last week's CSA delivery, and Andrew wanted to make some salsa. So we picked up some peppers at the market and I got to work. The first five ingredients are local (and the cilantro, if I had used it). I could have, in a perfect world, made my own tomato sauce and paste. However, this is an example of how I integrate my desire to eat as locally as possible with the reality of life as a busy mother of two.



Sassy Salsa

8 cups of tomatoes (we used 11 total tomatoes), peeled, diced, and drained
2.5 cups diced onions
1.5 cups diced green peppers
1 - 1.5 cups minced hot peppers (a mix of sweet yellow and green anaheim this time)
5-8 cloves garlic
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 cup salt
1/4 cup sugar (or less, taste as you go)
1/3 cup vinegar
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (12 ounce) can tomato paste
cilantro to taste if desired

Mix all together and cook for 10-20 minutes on a low simmer, stirring often. This makes a lot of salsa! You can freeze it in small containers and use as needed.

To peel tomatoes: Bring a pan of water to a boil. Cut an X in the bottom of each tomato. Submerge each tomato in the boiling water for about 10 seconds. Remove with tongs and allow to cool. The skin will peel right off, starting at the X.

Tomato Basil Pesto

For dinner on Saturday, I made Sun Dried Tomato Basil Pesto. We love this dish a lot; the first time I made it for my husband, he assured me that I could make this "whenever I wanted, all the time". I don't have a recipe per se, I just keep throwing things in the food processor until it tastes the way I want it. How much it makes depends on how much of each ingredient you include; usually I base everything on how much basil I have. This time, I had a giant bunch of basil from the Field Day Family Farm stand at the market, so we have a lot of pesto.

Ingredients:

basil
pine nuts
olive oil
sun dried tomatoes (I get dry packed ones from Nuts N Stuff on Preston Hwy)
garlic
Parmesan cheese
a little water if needed

Put the basil ingredients in the food processor and whirl to blend. Keep adding things and tasting until it suits you. This is a great dish to help hone your cooking skills if you have always been a "book cook" and want to branch out.

Market Day 7/19/08

Welcome to my local foods blog! I love my city and I love the food we have here. My husband and I have made a commitment to eat as locally as possible, and thus we frequent at least one farmer's market per week. Our favorite is Saturday mornings at the Bardstown Road Market. It's become not just a shopping trip, but a social affair. We usually see at least one person that we know, and most Saturdays we see our doula and her family. I firmly believe that this socializing is just as important as the food that we buy. This is how food buying, and eating, was meant to be. But more about that later.

Right now I want to talk about what we found at the market today! Today's market purchases included:

one large bunch of basil
one bunch of garlic scapes
two Anaheim peppers
one sweet banana pepper
two large golden zucchini
five peaches
seven apples
seven onions
2.5 pounds honey
one pound beef spareribs

Approximate cost $35

Doesn't it all look delicious?
And this week's favorite picture...

What am I going to DO with all of this?

-sundried tomato basil pesto
-stuffed zucchini
-apple crisp
-peach ice crean
-barbecued ribs

Stay tuned ...