10 Reasons to Eat Local

kayemme

Clearly none of you live in urban Canada.

I try to buy local in the summer, but if I want to eat anything other than rutabaga and turnips in the winter, I'm importing. And I do. Because I freaking hate turnips and rutabaga.

I live in urban/industrial Southern New England (Providence). For us, It's pretty much squash, cabbage, lettuce & radishes (they're on the way out, tho), turnips, leeks, carrots, potatoes, kale, some chard & collards, and celeriac these days. But all of these things make delicious and wonderful soups, especially when served with fresh, hot homemade bread. Many of these can be mashed, too, as a side for carnivorous folk.

give it a try. you wouldn't believe how low in calories and high in nutrition these things are. the body is meant to eat in season, obviously. our industrial system has skewed that seasonal perspective. and yes, it forces one to be a bit creative, but it's a great mental exercise. plus it makes the heavier days so much more graceful!

TropicalKitty

Clearly none of you live in urban Canada.

I try to buy local in the summer, but if I want to eat anything other than rutabaga and turnips in the winter, I'm importing. And I do. Because I freaking hate turnips and rutabaga.

I live in urban/industrial Southern New England (Providence). For us, It's pretty much squash, cabbage, lettuce & radishes (they're on the way out, tho), turnips, leeks, carrots, potatoes, kale, some chard & collards, and celeriac these days. But all of these things make delicious and wonderful soups, especially when served with fresh, hot homemade bread. Many of these can be mashed, too, as a side for carnivorous folk.

give it a try. you wouldn't believe how low in calories and high in nutrition these things are. the body is meant to eat in season, obviously. our industrial system has skewed that seasonal perspective. and yes, it forces one to be a bit creative, but it's a great mental exercise. plus it makes the heavier days so much more graceful!

Dittoing. Think about it, the Native Americans survived here 15,000 years ago when the ice sheets were retracting as they came over the Bering Straits. There are things that people can survive on in the Great White North. There are still natives that survive off the land with little input from modern society. You may just have to step out of the concrete maze to find the soil where food grows.

It takes educating yourself and creativity. I didn't know most of the things I know now this time last year. This is also where home preservation helps out as you learn your local food sources and start to figure out what is available what times of year, which is going to be more important in colder climates. LocalHarvest.org has some Canadian farms listed.



I wish I could find a local farmer that has broccoli right now. Or shoot...I wish I had gotten broccoli seeds to plant them for picking soon. I love fresh broccoli! I'm not a big leaf eater, although I've fallen in love with toscano kale.

kayemme

I wish I could find a local farmer that has broccoli right now. Or shoot...I wish I had gotten broccoli seeds to plant them for picking soon. I love fresh broccoli! I'm not a big leaf eater, although I've fallen in love with toscano kale.

You might be out of luck until about May, unless you're lucky enough to live in a zone higher than 8 i wanted to do it this year, but i think i'm going to try for next year to build a hoop house out of my garden plot to see if i can get stuff like broccoli and cauliflower late in the season.

last year at our local foods conference, the speaker said if we bury some hot compost / manure in the fall, plant our seeds and put up a hoop house, it should be able to stay warm enough in the ground to grow well into january. that's how his parents did it.

TropicalKitty

I think we're a 7.

With this weather, though, geez! It's supposed to be 73 today. So this fall hasn't been very cool, by any means. I'm just peeved about the broccoli because it likes to mature in the cooler weather, from what I read. When I went to buy plants back in April, they had broccoli so I planted it. Picked it at the start of June and it tasted like tires. So that's where I "learned" the cold weather thing about broc...I'm peeved that they were selling broc here when it shouldn't have been sold. It should have been out later.

Or I could be completely wrong. I know nothing about actually growing these things myself. I'm a biologist/geneticist who's never had a garden - I learn by trial and error. This was a big error. hahahaha

But my jalapenos were super happy!

kayemme

broccoli has two growing seasons here (6b) once in the spring and once in the fall.

so yeah, it does like cooler weather. but you can't sow it in april. at least here, it's too warm by then. it likes the same conditions as lettuce or cilantro (which seems weird, but it's true).

june is the right time to harvest it usually, but if it was put in the ground very late (april) then it might not taste so great. i start mine indoors in feb and try to put it in the ground as soon as the soil can be worked. it's tricky in the spring because a late frost can kill a seedling.

broccoli in the fall is easier because you can sow it directly into the ground in august so it has a nice warm place to start and then as the weather cools off, it grows nicely.


i'm an amateur gardener, too.. trial and error. this year i grew cauliflower. for 8 months it just grew and grew and grew. the plant was as high as my shoulders. figuring it wasn't going to produce anything, i pulled it. but then i found a big head of cauliflower in the center of all those enormous leaves. we ate the whole thing in one night plus the tender leaves.
conversely, here in new england, peppers are kind of a pain to grow (for me, anyway). it gets hot enough for them, but our summer isn't typically long enough to get them really good and ripe on the plant. i pick them a bit early, and i've had very good luck that way.

you might have just had a very warm year for the broccoli. it likes it to be around 65 and misty. 70 is okay. 75 is pushing it, and 80 might be a little hot.

TropicalKitty

broccoli has two growing seasons here (6b) once in the spring and once in the fall.

so yeah, it does like cooler weather. but you can't sow it in april. at least here, it's too warm by then. it likes the same conditions as lettuce or cilantro (which seems weird, but it's true).

june is the right time to harvest it usually, but if it was put in the ground very late (april) then it might not taste so great. i start mine indoors in feb and try to put it in the ground as soon as the soil can be worked. it's tricky in the spring because a late frost can kill a seedling.

broccoli in the fall is easier because you can sow it directly into the ground in august so it has a nice warm place to start and then as the weather cools off, it grows nicely.


i'm an amateur gardener, too.. trial and error. this year i grew cauliflower. for 8 months it just grew and grew and grew. the plant was as high as my shoulders. figuring it wasn't going to produce anything, i pulled it. but then i found a big head of cauliflower in the center of all those enormous leaves. we ate the whole thing in one night plus the tender leaves.
conversely, here in new england, peppers are kind of a pain to grow (for me, anyway). it gets hot enough for them, but our summer isn't typically long enough to get them really good and ripe on the plant. i pick them a bit early, and i've had very good luck that way.

you might have just had a very warm year for the broccoli. it likes it to be around 65 and misty. 70 is okay. 75 is pushing it, and 80 might be a little hot.

Man! I had cauliflower too. After I read the broc stuff, they mentioned cauliflower. I saw no head forming so I ripped it out. BOO! I may have gotten something in the end. But, I'll just tell myself it would have tasted like bumper to compliment the tire tasting broc.

It was hot here in TN this summer. I think that's why my jalapenos went nuts. By May it's usually hit 80.

Grokette

I am so excited about Thanksgiving this year!!!

We are eating wholesome foods...............No stuffing, mashed potatoes, goopy gravy, etc............

kayemme

my bf just told me that he thinks we should bring glazed turnips to the "orphan's holiday".... i was going to bring cookies, but this sounds too good to pass up. plus, we kinda gotta lotta turnips...

we'll see how it goes!

happy holiday!

kayemme

@kitty,

ours was surprisingly good. i'd bet you'll have better luck with fall plantings... give that a whirl. my plant date for fall is aug 15. you may have to adjust yours a tad (maybe aug 30?) for zone 7, but you can check your farmer's almanac, too, using the first hard frost date and then counting backwards according to the seed packet.

TropicalKitty

I am so excited about Thanksgiving this year!!!

We are eating wholesome foods...............No stuffing, mashed potatoes, goopy gravy, etc............

You can make some of those things wholesome! I'll be making a gluten free cornbread stuffing, all whole grain and with as much local and organic stuff as I can (local natural butter - which was made Sunday!- and onion, organic free range chicken broth, local herbs, free range eggs from my bf's coworker's back yard).

Mashed potatoes aren't that bad - just depends on what you do with them.

It's the junk like greenbean casserole that is gross to me. StoveTop and the other premade grossness, I totally agree with you on for not being wholesome. But as this thread started out, it goes back to knowing how to cook with real foods.


Kayemme, I'll have to chat with you more when planting and stuff gets closer. My bf's mom is supposedly a "master gardener" but everything she did just died - like her tomato plants were junk this year but mine flourished. So I don't want any more of her input being put into practice. hehehe She didn't warn me about the squash bugs that are around here that ended up coming and killing my zucchini, yellow and crook-kneck squash. (The like 4 zucchini I managed to get were AMAZING though) And she picked my crook-kneck squash too early. She's banned from my garden unless it's weeding. :laugh:

Grokette

I am so excited about Thanksgiving this year!!!

We are eating wholesome foods...............No stuffing, mashed potatoes, goopy gravy, etc............

You can make some of those things wholesome! I'll be making a gluten free cornbread stuffing, all whole grain and with as much local and organic stuff as I can (local natural butter - which was made Sunday!- and onion, organic free range chicken broth, local herbs, free range eggs from my bf's coworker's back yard).

Mashed potatoes aren't that bad - just depends on what you do with them.

It's the junk like greenbean casserole that is gross to me. StoveTop and the other premade grossness, I totally agree with you on for not being wholesome. But as this thread started out, it goes back to knowing how to cook with real foods.


Kayemme, I'll have to chat with you more when planting and stuff gets closer. My bf's mom is supposedly a "master gardener" but everything she did just died - like her tomato plants were junk this year but mine flourished. So I don't want any more of her input being put into practice. hehehe She didn't warn me about the squash bugs that are around here that ended up coming and killing my zucchini, yellow and crook-kneck squash. (The like 4 zucchini I managed to get were AMAZING though) And she picked my crook-kneck squash too early. She's banned from my garden unless it's weeding. :laugh:

I can't have grains of any kind without having a major stomach ache and feeling achy in the joints for days on end after I eat them and I have never been a fan of white potatoes. I have made gravy low carb style which was pretty healthy, but my hubby isn't a big gravy person, so no reason to make it.

I love sweet potatoes though!!

I get roll butter from the Amish and Mennonites around here which is the best tasting butter I have ever, ever had!!

I am so ready to get in the kitchen and cook - I am soooooooooo excited.

And I am talking about all the box and bagged stuff I see flying off the shelves at the grocery stores.............

TropicalKitty

Grokette, once I figured out my gluten sensitivity, I have no problems with corn, potatoes, or rice. It's really great actually. Previously I thought it was just the starches that were causing me issues, but it was the gluten. I feel so liberated now! This summer I was so happy to have fresh picked corn on the cob and not having some feeling of guilt. I've fallen in love with quinoa, especially the quinoa pasta instead of whole wheat pasta. I think we have a nice similarity on this.

Guess the moral of the story is, if I hadn't found out about the wheat thing I wouldn't be where I am now. It's so amazing once you have that click about how food and your body are connected. I had spent so much time hating my body for not behaving with foods, but my view changed suddenly with the gluten deal. Food was being my enemy, not my body. Being able to find quality local foods that help my body has made me love food again.


Thanksgiving will be interesting if I can keep my mom's ignorance out of the kitchen. She was asking me to do nasty things to veggies last night. Her cooking style makes me and my bf sick. So I'm getting nervous that she's going to mess up my plans for healthy foods on the table.

So, ladies, how do you handle the family members who "don't get it"?

Grokette

Grokette, once I figured out my gluten sensitivity, I have no problems with corn, potatoes, or rice. It's really great actually. Previously I thought it was just the starches that were causing me issues, but it was the gluten. I feel so liberated now! This summer I was so happy to have fresh picked corn on the cob and not having some feeling of guilt. I've fallen in love with quinoa, especially the quinoa pasta instead of whole wheat pasta. I think we have a nice similarity on this.

Guess the moral of the story is, if I hadn't found out about the wheat thing I wouldn't be where I am now. It's so amazing once you have that click about how food and your body are connected. I had spent so much time hating my body for not behaving with foods, but my view changed suddenly with the gluten deal. Food was being my enemy, not my body. Being able to find quality local foods that help my body has made me love food again.


Thanksgiving will be interesting if I can keep my mom's ignorance out of the kitchen. She was asking me to do nasty things to veggies last night. Her cooking style makes me and my bf sick. So I'm getting nervous that she's going to mess up my plans for healthy foods on the table.

So, ladies, how do you handle the family members who "don't get it"?

I love what you said............She asked me to do nasty things to veggies........ LOL - what kind of nasty things was she asking you to do to the veggies????

I have added butter sauteed green beans to my menu. They were offered to me by the CSA and I snatched them up.

My hubby and I stay away from the family members that don't get it. We are actually doing Thanksgiving with just the 2 of us and our dogs. We are volunteering at a homeless shelter to serve food during lunch and then we will go home and eat our own.

We will talk to family on the phone, LOL...........

And I do love food also. I just prefer my foods to be protein, veggies, nuts and some fruit. I feel better all the way around with out eating beans, other legumes and grains. My Thyroid is also starting to function normal again with minimal meds.

TropicalKitty

I love my veggies as veggies, I should preface this with. So I'm very happy with steamed plain broccoli or green beans. But she was talking about cooking the green beans in sauteed onion, celery and green pepper - ok yes, not horrible, but when she makes veggies, I get sick. I think it's the sub-par ingredients she uses or something. (Now I realize how absolutely rediculous I sound, but of course there is always more behind the story with someone like your mother hahaha)

I think we compromised where I would blanch the green beans and sautee them quickly with a bit of garlic. My tastes are more fresh, while hers are more disguised. Like she uses oil and butter to pan fry potatoes - I just like a bit of canola oil.

My food tastes like food, not like all of the seasonings and junk to hide what I'm eating. That's the "nasty things to veggies" she does. hahaha

Sounds like you have a nice giving thanksgiving planned.

AKosky585

This is a great idea, and I do shop at local farmers markets when they are in season. In Ohio, they are only open from about May-October. The rest of the time, it is cold, snowy, frost, ice...etc. What about the other 6 months out of the year? I would love to eat local all year round, but I have found it very difficult to find local markets that are open 'out of season'.

Grokette

I love my veggies as veggies, I should preface this with. So I'm very happy with steamed plain broccoli or green beans. But she was talking about cooking the green beans in sauteed onion, celery and green pepper - ok yes, not horrible, but when she makes veggies, I get sick. I think it's the sub-par ingredients she uses or something. (Now I realize how absolutely rediculous I sound, but of course there is always more behind the story with someone like your mother hahaha)

I think we compromised where I would blanch the green beans and sautee them quickly with a bit of garlic. My tastes are more fresh, while hers are more disguised. Like she uses oil and butter to pan fry potatoes - I just like a bit of canola oil.

My food tastes like food, not like all of the seasonings and junk to hide what I'm eating. That's the "nasty things to veggies" she does. hahaha

Sounds like you have a nice giving thanksgiving planned.

Just a bit of information..........Butter is actually better for you than Canola oil.

I understand what your saying though..............I am trying to get through to my hubby that the veggies shouldn't be mushy that actually kills them and they are no longer a living food.. He doesn't understand or get it yet, so I cook his one way and mine the other way for now...............

I will just have to transition him over slowly but surely..........LOL

Grokette

This is a great idea, and I do shop at local farmers markets when they are in season. In Ohio, they are only open from about May-October. The rest of the time, it is cold, snowy, frost, ice...etc. What about the other 6 months out of the year? I would love to eat local all year round, but I have found it very difficult to find local markets that are open 'out of season'.

Perhaps you could look into getting a CSA membership. I am not sure where you are in Ohio, but LocalHarvest.Org is a good site to search for a CSA in your area.

http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

hphurley

I just started getting a local organic food box (canada's equivalent to CSA) this month and it's AMAZING!! Tried out so many great recipes that I never would have (because I wouldn't have bought pumpkin, kale or beets). Thai pumpkin soup. Broccoli salads. Kale chips. SO GOOD. So happy!! There's not much local in the winter where I am (no local/seasonal food box for the next 3 months), but I have started canning this year, so i've got some pickles, apple sauce and salsa from the summer months! I love local - it tastes so much better!

TropicalKitty

I love my veggies as veggies, I should preface this with. So I'm very happy with steamed plain broccoli or green beans. But she was talking about cooking the green beans in sauteed onion, celery and green pepper - ok yes, not horrible, but when she makes veggies, I get sick. I think it's the sub-par ingredients she uses or something. (Now I realize how absolutely rediculous I sound, but of course there is always more behind the story with someone like your mother hahaha)

I think we compromised where I would blanch the green beans and sautee them quickly with a bit of garlic. My tastes are more fresh, while hers are more disguised. Like she uses oil and butter to pan fry potatoes - I just like a bit of canola oil.

My food tastes like food, not like all of the seasonings and junk to hide what I'm eating. That's the "nasty things to veggies" she does. hahaha

Sounds like you have a nice giving thanksgiving planned.

Just a bit of information..........Butter is actually better for you than Canola oil.

I understand what your saying though..............I am trying to get through to my hubby that the veggies shouldn't be mushy that actually kills them and they are no longer a living food.. He doesn't understand or get it yet, so I cook his one way and mine the other way for now...............

I will just have to transition him over slowly but surely..........LOL

The butter v canola oil isn't the issue - its the combined flavors she uses of olive oil and butter that are disgusting.

Also, the dairy had been sold out of butter for awhile while I was going in, so I was "stuck" with oil - I go on Fridays and they make butter on Sundays. (ideally I would make my fried potatoes in butter, that's how it was originally made back in Germany, and it's yummier too) But now that the cows are happy making more milk in the cooler weather, they have a lot more product. Picking up 3lbs today! hahahaha

Oh the bf can either eat what I make or figure it out on his own. But, he's realized that I am a great cook. Granted it took some work with him - like I got him to eat asparagus by telling him he had to eat at least 5 spears to make his pee smell funny. BOYS! It worked though hahahah

TropicalKitty

This is a great idea, and I do shop at local farmers markets when they are in season. In Ohio, they are only open from about May-October. The rest of the time, it is cold, snowy, frost, ice...etc. What about the other 6 months out of the year? I would love to eat local all year round, but I have found it very difficult to find local markets that are open 'out of season'.

Perhaps you could look into getting a CSA membership. I am not sure where you are in Ohio, but LocalHarvest.Org is a good site to search for a CSA in your area.

http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

Expanding on what Grokette said, I networked with the farmers during the summer. So I found one that is doing a small thing during the "off season" through email orders. You'd be surprised what you can find out after you get "into" the scene. One of the beef family suppliers is doing the same thing (actually the veggie farmer convinced them to do the email order thing).

Also, I thought everything was done by now - like in the town I live our market is closed, but in the bigger city near by they have a year round one. Another municipality has a year long one as well. It may just take some hunting around to see what you can find.