Eating Local
You may have heard that the Eat Local Challenge is going on this month (which, I realize, is almost over). But you can participate in your own Eat Local Challenge any time of the year. Why bother? Click here for 10 good reasons. You could start today--even if you live in a place where it's still too early for farmers' markets. Try seeking out and eating just one locally produced thing a day.
Ask around. You might be surprised to find that there is an amazing cheesemaker located just a few miles away. Or that your favorite supermarket buys some of its produce from nearby growers. Or that your neighbor down the street is an avid edible gardener willing to share. Even locally brewed beer counts! Note: The Locavores use a 100-mile radius around their home to define local foods, which gives you a fairly large hunting ground.
For more help finding food nearby, check out LocalHarvest.org. To learn how others are living up to their challenge, visit the new group blog EatLocalChallenge.com.
And for some inspiration to support small farmers (along with a healthy serving of gorgeous photos), head over to Small Farms: A Blog From The Heart, where the incredible Tana will have you laughing, crying, and wanting to make tonight's dinner from food that still has dirt clinging to it.
Of course you can't get any more local than your own backyard (or windowsill or front porch steps or fire escape). I've been harvesting several varieties of lettuce (including the Rocky Top Mix pictured above from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds), along with all kinds of other tasty salad greens, for several weeks now. Click here, and I'll have you going from seed packet to salad bowl in under a month—even if your 'garden' consists of a couple of plastic buckets or tubs.
I've also been enjoying asparagus from the garden for the past month, though my little bed has only been offering up four or five spears at a time. Tender, locally grown asparagus is still available in many places right now, and I urge you to try to get your hands on some.
For interesting ways to prepare it, check out Asparagus Aspirations at Seriously Good, where Kevin has been compiling asparagus recipes from food bloggers around the world all month long.
Wondering where Cary is? She's been up to no good in the garden (again), and I have the pictures to prove it. Click here to see for yourself.
So what tasty local things have you been eating?
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