Week 1 (or the shortest shorty of all weeks)

(*note: a new entry has been added! see Simona's under the Illinois group)

The Challenge is officially underway!  Below you will find the entries for the small group of local eating challengers who were able to make the quick turnaround from new year's eve to "eating local in the dark".  Be impressed with their fortitude!  Let your mouth water at the sight of their meals!  Get inspired to eat a local meal this week and blow week 2 out of the water!

Eating locally in the winter is tough in the cold climates, but eating locally is tough for anyone when they are first trying it out.  So please remember as we move forward that ANY MEAL COUNTS no matter how small.  I just want you to see what you can find and to give it a shot. 

On to the food!  2 breakfasts, a dinner party, a meal with instructions, a meal made despite a sick family and a visit to a local store that ends with a treat for one of our youngest participants.  Enjoy!

Illinois

Erin L (your hostess) Evanston, IL

Hi friends!! I've been really excited about the start of the challenge for some time now.  I'm an Individual Therapist and Wellness Coach based in Evanston.  I get unusually excited about local foods or good food in general (maybe not so unusual in this crowd!).  I decided to host a winter version of the "Keep it Local" challenge to push myself to not give up on finding great local food all year long.

So here is my first meal:

Pancakes with blueberry preserves!  The pancakes were a gift from Sarah P (who'll likely show up on the challenge next week) and the blueberries are from the farmer's market last summer thatI put up in preserves during the last challenge.  I searched for a local syrup (I swear there is some!), but all I could find came from Canada.  The preserves were a great substitute.

 

• Pancakes: New Rinkle Flour - North Howe, IN (156 miles)
• Blueberries: Seedling Fruit - South Haven, MI (140 miles)
• Butter & Eggs: Organic Valley - La Farge, WI (242 miles)

Wynn S.- Chicago, IL

As a person living alone, I'm really aware of the effort and waste involved in getting each meal onto my plate.  I like the idea of this challenge as a way to pay closer attention to the waste produced as I make each meal, but also to learn from other participants about new sources for a more sustainable food prep process.  (Thanks, Erin!!)

I shopped first at Newleaf Grocery in Rogers Park.  They had local potatoes, tofu, a few other items, but now apples or other fresh produce really.  Then on to Whole Foods where I spoke with the meat counter and they explained that most meat comes from out of state...but they expect changes in the next 4-6 weeks.  At a local store on Clark, they said that they don't get anything in IL either.  That said, if I expand local to include IL, WI, IN and MI I'm sure I will have a much simpler time making a full meal.

This week's meal- Breakfast: scrambled cheese eggs with sausage, toast and juice

 

Cherry juice- Lawton, MI; Eggs- Forreston, IL; AmyLu sausage- Chicago; Organic Cheese- LaFarge, WI; EarthGraintoast- Neenah, WI; Slack'sstrawberry rhubarb jam- Lodi, WI

 

Sara L.R. - Chicago, IL

Yea, Eating Local again!  It certainly was harder this time around than it was in the summer, but here is what the Lenet-Rotenbergs and our dinner guests enjoyed for dinner. 

First, we attempted a potatoe gnocchi made with potatoes from Organic Valley Farmsin La Farge, WI' chestnut flour from Hillside Chestnut Orchardsin Berrien Springs, MI and eggs from Anabaptist Farmers' Co-op in Middlebury, IN.  We ate it with an Arrabiata sauce from Coupla Guys Foodshere in Chicago and sauteed crimini mushrooms from River Valley Ranchin Burlington, WI.  All the ingredints were purchased over at the Green Grocerin Chicago with the exception of the chestnut flour which was bought at the Green Cith Market last summer and hoarded in anticipation of another eating local throwdown!

 

For dessert, I made the same cobbler I made pretty much every week of the challenge last summer.  Next week, I promise to try something new.  This cobbler was made with that same chestnut flour, a jar of plums from Seedling Fruit in South Haven, MI and purchased from Southport Cafe and Grocery.  The recipe also called for butter and milk from Organic Valley Farmsin LaFarge, WI.  (sugar...delicious and sweet, but not local).  We also put out "Heaven is Lavendar" crackers by Nicole, made here in Chicago and sheep milk cheese with lavendar and honey from Hidden Springs Creameryin Westby, WI.

       

We were wiped out after all that cooking!  After dinner was through, the guests were gone and the dishes were clean, my son Charlie and I snuggled up with a couple of local Rishi Teafrom right here in Chicago (Emerald Lily Flavor...delish)

See all you locavores next week!

 

Peggy B - Chicago, IL

I'm Peggy and I live in Chicago with my husband Ryan.  Together we have 1.5 kids ( a 3 y.o. daughter, Leona and a half-complete science experiment in my belly).  I also teach yoga classes in and around the Chicago area.

For our first foray into eating locally, Leona and I visited the Green Grocer.  As Leona proceeded to eat all of the snack samples that were set out, I took a stroll around.  Our choices were a bit limited (due to the winter season I'm assuming) but this actually suited me just fine.  I didn't feel overwhelmed about what to get/what to make.  We decided on porotbello mushrooms, shallots, garlic and sweet potatoes all fromlocal farms in IN and WI (such as Harvest Moon and Genesis Growers).  We introduced ourselves to the owner, who assured me that everything I bought was local.  Plus, she gave Leona a little clementine orange as a treat, which Leona adored, declaring the owner, "a nice lady."  I concur.

So, I sauteed the mushrooms with the shallots and garlic and then melted some local Fromage Bleu (really - that's what it was called - I'm not trying to be fancy or anything) from another local spot on top of the mushrooms.  I mashed the sweet potatoes with some butter that my mom bought a while back at a farmer's market (Im hoping it was local - all mom could remember was that they're amish)

The first meal turned out pretty tasty actually (although as evidenced by the photo I'll have to work on my plating skills).  The biggest surprise of the meal was that Leona actually ate what we put in front of her. (Most of it anyhow)

Finally, for me, the biggest part of this initial experince was that I did something I have always envied in other people: I went to the market, found something that looked good and decided on a meal then and there. 

Rick Bayless, eat your heart out.

 

Sara T.L. - Chicago, IL

I am married with 2 boys.  Trying to eat "local" is not a new concept for me and my family.  My parents have a huge garden so we all work in it and share the food - freezing much of it for winter months.  In the warmer months we hit local farmstands and purchase from them instead of the local markets.  My first meal was just for me as my family was all sick.  I had frozen potatoes, peppers and onion from my family's garden and I sauteed the pepers & onion in olive oil and put that on my baked potatoe.  Very good!  I will remember the pic next time!

 

Simona M - Chicago, IL

This first week's theme is milk!  I didn't have time to go to the Green Grocer as planned, so I looked in my fridge and saw a nice snack for me (Simona) and my daughter (Isabel).  The milk I drank is Oberweis from Peapod and the milk Isabel drank was pumped today from me. Can't get more local than our house!

 

 

California

Dan M. - Los Angeles, CA

Hey everybody!  Dan from out in south california.  very excited to be doing this again! the only thing i'd like to say about myself is that i rarely use capital letters, so please forgive me for that...

okay, so for week 1 i really wanted to make ratatouille, becuase it's a good, versatile winter dish - it can be eaten over rice, pasta, with bread or by itself for those watching their carbs.  while not super-difficult to make, care should be taken not to over-roast or overcook the veggies, which leads to mushy ratatouille.  to briefly outline how i mad it: i started by roasting everything except the tomatoes at 450, then combined the roasted veggies witht he tomatoes in a large saucepan.  after awhile (on low heat), the tomatoes will juice completely.  i found this recipe on a site called bigoven.com (which has an app for iphone!) since i couldn't find locally-grown mushrooms, i omitted them from the recipe, but i don't believe the dish suffered.  it was delicious.  i enjoyed it with some stone wheat crachers (the only thing 'local' about the crachers is the trader joes from where they came)

  

(the "before" pic)                                             (and "after)

    as for the ingredients, everything was locally-grown except for some sprigs of thyme and other spices i used for flavor.  i found the eggplant at a local open-air market in downtown L.A. called the Grand Central Market, which is a collection of local food vendors, including farmers from the L.A. area.  the rest was found at the weekly Atwater Village Farmers Mkt, which was a terrific resource for me during last summer's Keep it Local Challenge.

• yellow squash, zucchini, green pepper: Gaytan Farms- Mira Loma, Ca (50 miles)

• roma tomatoes, onions, yellow pepper: Castellanos Farm - Riverside, CA (60 miles)

• Eggplant, garlic, lemon, parsley: Grand Central Market (no further then 60 miles)

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Good eating, everybody!!  I've heard from many other challengers who are planning on starting the challenge this week.  Can't wait to see all the good eats!

Comments

[Erin Loughlin]

Ps - I was super hungry after finishing up this post.

[Paul Ramsey]

Dan M., I'm really curious about the your comment after Grand Central Market of "no further then 60 miles". Is this comment based on discussion with the vendor who actually sold you the items you purchased or is there some sort of policy with Grand Central Market. Vendors there sell all sorts of tropical fruits and seem to have lots of things when they're out of season locally so I'd be surprised to here that they have any restrictions on where things come from. I'm particularly interested since I can see that market from my loft window and it change how I use the market (though organic produce is rare there).