Life Begins at 30

Eat Local Challenge Participants - What a List!

Wow - the response to the Eat Local Challenge has been really incredible.  There is such a distribution throughout the US.  Be sure to check our International participants at the end of this post as well!  Throughout the month, I will be updating with how bloggers are doing with the challenge. 

If you spend any amount of time clicking through to the participants, I believe you will be rewarded -- the depth of all of the people who have chosen to participate, the subjects that their blogs cover, and the lengths to which they are taking the challenge is all just amazing.

Without further ado, the list of Eat Local participants.  Blogs are listed in alpha order by the region where they are located.

** If I missed you, please contact me and I will add you to the list! **

WEST

Heidi from Absinthe Knits (San Diego, CA). Beginning August 1, I'll try my damnedest to eat food that is grown and produced within a 100 mile radius of San Diego.

Kate from A Suburban Treehugger (Puget Sound, WA).

Sherrill from Baa Bonny Belle (Washington). The most local will be right out of my garden with green beans, tomatoes, cukes, zucchinni that will be ready for picking

Sam from Becks and Posh (San Francisco, CA). The main reason I, personally, want to take part is in order to continue to educate myself about what I am eating and where it comes from.

Mrs. D from Belly-Timber (Friday Harbor, Washington). This little island and her archipelago sisters; this is our true foodshed, and this is where we'll attempt to gather the lion's share of our August food.

Pim from Chez Pim (San Francisco, CA).

Suzanne from Failing at living, sustainably (Davis, CA). Pantry and refrigerator have a non-local shelves that are off-limits for the month. We’ll see how we do without parmesan reggiano.

Holli from Flibberty Gibbett (San Francisco, CA).

Jack from Fork and Bottle (Santa Rosa).

Cookiecrumb from I'm Mad and I Eat (Santa Venetia, CA). I know one thing for sure: The tomatoes will come from a 100-foot radius.

Brett from In Praise of Sardines (Bay Area).  So, although I'm arriving at the Eat Local party when it's half over, I want to offer my support and congratulations to all those who have been participating for the whole month!  Go team!

Andrea from Mellow Trouble (Los Angeles).

mipmup from Mipmup (Southern California). my goal is to have each meal contain at least 50-75% locally-grown/raised items.

Alice from My Epicurean Debauchery (Bay Area). I will promise to eat exclusively local fruits and vegetables this month, purchasing fresh produce only at farmer's markets and boycotting all grocery stores.

Maleah from Nature Knitter (Southern California). … what better inspiration than a challenge that accomplishes what I'm trying to do!

Sarah from Sarah's Homestead Blog ("woods of Oregon"). We will attempt to go all the way, and do all meals, concentrating most heavily on dinner.

Tana Butler from Small Farms (Santa Cruz County, CA). Hans and Heidi are my local fishing outfit, and I usually pick up some salmon at the farmers market.

Owen from Tomatilla (San Francisco, CA).

Kathy from Vast Amount of Spare Time (Southern California). I make almost every meal my family eats, so any change in where our food comes from will be a large one, percentage wise.

Jeanne from World on a Plate (San Francisco, CA). Although it's impossible to source Jamba Juice locally they are a local company (wink).

me from Life Begins @ 30 (San Francisco, CA). Anything that I buy or cook for the household will be locally grown.

MIDWEST

Liz from A Typical Mom (Des Moines Suburbs).

Heather from Based on a True Story (Midwest). being aware and making a concious effort to incorporate local produce into my diet will be an interesting project.

Sara from Buona Sara. As much as I dream of living like Annie Dillard or Wendell Berry, I typically buy whatever looks decent and is on sale at Giant.

Gina from Cauldron Ridge (St Joe, Indiana). This is my goal--eat local first; eat globally on special occasions.

Dianna from Infinite Stitch (Illinois). Local will mean Illinois and Michigan with the most focus on my city.

Resident Minx from Jinxed Minx (Suburban Detroit). Getting into a discussion in a local yarn shop made me realize that it's never easy - you must decide for yourself which piece of the food puzzle is most important.

Alanna from Kitchen Parade: Veggie Venture (St. Louis, Missouri). Incorporating eating local into her blog goal of writing new about new veggie recipes every day.

Mary from Knitting Notes (Ohio). I'm going to define local as any product grown or produced in Ohio.

Expat Chef from The Expatriate's Kitchen (Midwest). It could be a bit on this week's type of tomato (German stripe or lemony or zebra) or it could be what the hell to do with kohlrabi.

Barbara from Tiger & Strawberries (Ohio). Knowing that I have spread the idea of sustainability to a few other people makes me unbelieveably happy.

Vital Information from (Chicago, IL). Has a list of local resources on his site and thinks that the eat local challenge is a natural fit for him.

NORTHEAST

Naomi from an ent knits (Philadelphia, PA). for the month of August, all the food I buy is going to be from the farmers' market or the co-op.

Jennifer from Cookin' in the 'Cuse (Syracuse, NY). It is my hope that the month of August will not only be a delicious month but will give us the chance to see the rich possibilities of eating locally and sustainably in Central New York.

David from Eating New Jersey (New Jersey). However, effort will be made to use restaurants that at least make some effort to use local foods and to bring local foods to potluck style events.

Sara from Folk Food (Seacoast Region of New Hampshire). I'd tell you more but then I'd have to kill you.

Rebecca from Green-eyed Knitter (Western New York).

Gina from Hmmmm …. Musings On …. (New Jersey). I’m a willing and eager participant.

Lisa from KnitSox (Red Sox Nation).

Kristin from Kristin Confit (New York City). Last night, I began the challenge, and three of us feasted on mussels harvested by Blue Moon Fish from Long Island.

Lenn from Lenndevours (New York). I think by thinking about where each bite comes from is the first step in enjoying food to its fullest.

Sarah from Misadventures (Maryland). I am including anything that I get from a family farm around the Chesapeake watershed area.

Norma from Now Norma Knits (Vermont). I already eat mostly Vermont-grown......well, EVERYTHING. Much of it comes from my own backyard.

Liz from Pocket Farm (Maine). We're also experimenting with growing a small plot of wheat to mill ourselves.

Stephanie from stefoodie.net (Northwest PA). Since we have been blessed to live in an area surrounded by local farms -- which we don't take advantage of often enough -- our family has decided to take the challenge and participate

Janis from The Farmette Report (West Maryland). I want to be more mindful about what I eat.

Parke from US Food Policy (Massachusetts). There is something appealing about a dirty crooked carrot in a world full of obedient clean conical supercarrots.

 

SOUTHEAST

Jamie from 10 Signs Like This (The South). We will attempt to consume only foods grown in the American South, i.e., from Texas eastward and from Maryland southward.

Christine from Farm Groupie (Washington DC Area).

Becky from it's a bexala world (Louisiana). Because the move cuts the month in half and my kitchen will be packed in a week, I am going to set a goal of one meal a week completely from local sources.

Annie from Knitty Gritty. I have since spent a lot of time thinking of how I will make changes in my life

Kevin from Seriously Good (Knoxville, TN). But local producers can also translate to more input from you concerning what's available.

SOUTHWEST

Eva from True Epicure Says (Phoenix, AZ). Unfortunately, August being the worst time of year for being outdoors here, there are a number of farmer’s markets that are closed.

CANADA

Kelly from marmalade.ca (Toronto, Canada). The city has a gazillion Farmers’ Markets, and each week we’ll visit one.

Heather from Viva Epicurea (Kelowna, BC). My definition of “local” is 130 kilometers

INTERNATIONAL

Trixye from La Cosa Knitstra (Cambridge, England). There's a great market here in Cambridge, and I do quite often use it in the summer time, just not as much as I should.

Claire from Little Fish Creations (Gippsland, Australia). Riscy and I have decided to accept the Eat Local challenge. It is mid winter here, so I think we will need to be fairly creative this August

Andrew from Spittoon.biz (UK). Every other week I receive a local veg-box from Thame based Local Tastes

Eat Local Challenge: Personal Challenge Announcement

1.  What's your definition of local for this challenge?

Local will be anything within 100 miles (as the crow flies) of San Francisco, CA.

2.  What exemptions will you claim?

> Coffee.  All coffee will be roasted locally.

> Salmon and halibut in my freezer that my dad caught in Alaska

> Steel Cut Oats.  I haven't been able to find a local source of oats.  Normally, I would say that we would just eat something different for breakfast, but morning oatmeal has been a pretty important part of Jason's regimen since we have completely changed our at-home diets.  Therefore, it's going to stay.  We will be buying organic steel cut oats from Rainbow Grocery.  The oats come from Fiddler's Green Farm in Maine.

> Sugar.  Each time we use sugar in the household, we will try to find a reasonable local substitute (ie., honey, orange juice, etc.) but when we need to use sugar, we will do so.

> Rice.  We will be buying our rice from Lundberg Family Farms which is technically about 115 miles from San Francisco.  It is organic rice, and is readily available in San Francisco.  I am putting it under exceptions because it is a little out of the radius.

> Spices.  A couple of posts ago, Barbara made a comment about how even many of the settlers carried spices from afar.  This led to a discussion in our household about the amount of spices (by bulk) that we use, and will use in a month.  It's a minimal amount, and I am going to keep spices from afar in my diet for this challenge.  With the caveat that if there is a local and known provider I will use them (ie., Tierra Vegetables and Happy Quail farms for my chile powders).

I am a little skeptical of not making and exemption for other grains, soy and corn tortillas, however we have committed to at least start the challenge with only the above exemptions.

3.  What is your personal goal for the month?

Anything that I buy or cook for the household will be locally grown.  If we go to a restaurant that makes a claim of using foods from local farmers, then we assume that most of the food we will eat there is local, and it will work for this challenge.  Other than that, I can eat out once a week at a restaurant that does not make local food claims.

Eat Local Challenge - Send in your Announcements!

Today is the final day to send in your announcements that you will be participating in the August Eat Local Challenge.  So far, we have over thirty bloggers participating from all parts of the nation and the world.  Email me if you have any questions.  I will be posting my personal announcement later this afternoon.

Interested?  Move on to the Nuts and Bolts.

Need more convincing that local is the way to go?  Move on to the Reference Guide.

Not a blogger, but want to participate?  Sign up at Locavores today!

Encouraged

If I had to use one word to describe my state of mind right now, it would be encouraged.  I am so excited about the upcoming eat local challenge, and every time I check in, there seems to be more bloggers joining in on the fun.  Today, I received notices from a blogger in Australia and a blogger in the UK that have announced they will be taking the challenge.   Woo hoo - we've gone international!

As much as everyone talks about eating local being easier in California, I really was thinking that those in Southern California may have a tough time.  I am spending a few days down here and have so far checked out a couple farmer's markets.  I was so excited to find that it is possible to find food grown within a 100-mile radius fairly easily at the markets.  Some of them - like Jaime Farms from the City of Industry - grow right in the middle of LA county. 

****

A note to San Francisco challenge participants:  Some people have emailed asking me some specific questions about local food sources.  I wrote some notes in a comment the other day, but will reiterate here with some additional thoughts.

Spices.  Obviously, many spices don't come from local sources.  There are a couple of choices with this.  The first is to substitute a spice that you normally use for something that is locally grown.  For instance, I plan on using some delicious dried pepper mixes for some spice substitutions - which can be found at Tierra Vegetables and Happy Quail Farms.  But that won't get you too far if you have something specific you are looking for.  Personally?  I will try and substitute local herbs, and then use the eat local guidelines and go for terroir after local.  With salt, I am going to work on using salt from smaller producers (ie., not Cargill) when possible.  This will probably mean using more French / imported salts during this time, but the Cargill issue is a big one for me.

Flour.  The most local source of wheat flour seems to be Full Belly Farms - they are at the Berkeley (Tuesday), Marin (Thursday) and Palo Alto (Saturday). They are a fantastic resource for this challenge, as the breadth of what they offer is amazing.

Rice.  I have chosen to use rice from Lundberg Farms. Technically 125 miles, so it will be one of my exceptions -- but they make white and brown rice and are available at Whole Foods and Rainbow (bulk).

Things I am still trying to noodle out and would love advice on:

Oats.  We eat steel cut oats in the morning, and I have found organic ones, but they are certainly not local.  Is this going to have to be an exception that I claim?

Soy products.  After looking into this, it seems that I am either going to have to cut these out, or settle for using an organic producer of soy products, even though the soy doesn't come from here.  My main concern here is tofu.

Tortillas.  Apart from making my own from local corn (not an option for me this month), I have not found a local option for corn tortillas.  Anyone?  Rancho Gordo's corn source is not local.  I am not sure about Primavera.

Any products that you all are having trouble with?

Tour de France - Gastronome style

Have you been over to World on a Plate lately?  Jeanne is attempting a Herculean food feat:  writing about each region of France's food as the Tour de France passes through it.  It's a great way to read some trivia about the race while reading up on all foods French.  As you click through her posts, ask yourself how a woman with a full-time job is doing this AND watching the Tour de France.  She comes home from work and writes her post (sometimes, as in yesterday's post, this involves cooking or baking), goes to bed around midnight, and then is up by five to watch the tour live!  Now that is commitment.

Stage Five: Chambord

Stage Six: Champagne

Stage Eight: Black Forest

Stage Nine: Choucroute

Stage Ten: Born to Rhone

Stage Ten: Born to Rhone Deux

Stage 11 & 12: Hills & More Hills

Stage 13: SHF in Provence

Stage 14: Basque-ing in the Mts.

Stage 15: Espelette d' Hincapie

Stage 16: Let them eat gateau

Locavores on KQED now!

If you are near your radio or computer, the 10.00 hour of KQED is featuring the Locavores and the "Eat Local" movement.  Check it out! (Via real player on their home site, or via iTunes, or on 88.5 FM).

Right under our noses: Farms within 100 miles of SF

Bloggers nationwide are taking up the Eat Local Challenge.  Some of what I write about during the challenge may be San Francisco specific, as I do the research for my own Eat Local Challenge.

Below, you will find a list of farms that travel less than 100 miles to attend the Saturday Ferry Building Farmer's Market.  There may be more, but this will give you a start.

Special thanks to CUESA who not only provided this list, but had to create it for me!

To those of you in other parts of the country: Tap your farmer's market management for a similar list.  They may be able to provide some assistance, and it will be nice for them to know that this sort of list is important.

Allstar Organics
Bariani Olive Oil
Bella Viva Orchards
Bodega Goat Cheese
Brooks and Daughters
Brookside Farm
Bruins Farms
Cache Creek Farms
Capay Fruits & Vegetables
DeVoto Gardens
Dirty Girl Produce
Eatwell Farm
Ella Bella Farm
Everything Under the Sun
Far West Fungi
Four Sisters Farm
Frog Hollow Farm
G & S Farms
G. L. Alfieri Farms
Genuine Exotic Melons
Green Gulch Farm
Happy Quail Farms
Heirloom Organic Gardens
Hidden Star Orchards
Highland Hills Farm
Hog Island Oyster Company
Iacopi Farm
Jeff Young Farms
K & J Orchards
Knoll Farms
Lagier Ranches
Little Organic Farm
Lucero Organic Farms
Marin Sun Farms
Mariquita Farm
Marshall's Farm Honey
McGinnis Ranch
Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co.
Redwood Hill Farm
Sciabica & Sons
Short Night Farm
Small Potatoes
Spring Hill Jersey Cheese
Star Route Farms
Swanton Berry Farm
Tierra Vegetables
VB Farms 
Zuckerman's Farm

Update: August Eat Local Challenge

I am so excited about the response to the Local Food Challenge.  The most amazing part to me is that people from all over the country are participating.  Here are some of the people who have already announced that they will be participating.  You still have until July 31 to announce that you are taking the August Eat Local Challenge!

Liz from Pocket Farm is taking on the challenge in Maine.  She is a good resource for anyone in the area wanting to join in.

Christine at Farm Groupie will be joining from her home in Virginia.

Jennifer at Cookin' in the 'Cuse is not only taking on the challenge, but is working this month at letting others know about local resources in the Syracuse area.

Gina at Cauldon Ridge Farm is joining the challenge from Indiana.

Kate from Puget Sound, Washington is A Suburban Treehugger who is taking the challenge.

Heather from Based on a True Story will be blogging her challenge from the Midwest.

Eva from True Epicure Says is taking on the challenge in Arizona.

David from Eating New Jersey and his wife Michele announce the blog challenge acceptance in their inaugural post!  As Michele says, "Dave will be posting the positive spin on our efforts ... I will be posting the reality portion of the log."

Check out the Eat Local Challenge Announcement for more information.  Not a blogger, but want to participate?  Sign up at Locavores today!

Meat Comes from Animals: Deal with It, or Eat Vegetables

Barbara at Tigers and Strawberries has written a great blog post about her pet peeve and mine: People who say that they can't eat meat that "looks like it came from an animal," preferring to eat meat that has been processed and de-boned and de-skinned.  When I was about 14 years old, my vegetarian aunt, who I credit for making me as aware of food as I am today, told me that if I was going to eat meat, then I needed to read Diet for a New America by John Robbins.  So there I was, just a teenager, reading all about pigs and cows and chickens and the conditions that they were raised under in industrial agriculture. 

I still eat meat, but I think that this awareness makes me a much more conscious eater in all aspects of my diet. This early learning really made me intolerant of people who would rather not think about their meat that they are eating.  I think that those of us who are meat eaters really have a responsibility to be aware of what we are eating.

If you have a chance, read Barbara's post ... being raised on a farm, she brings some great insight to the debate.  Here's my favorite excerpt:

We named our hogs and cows. The chickens--well, when you have fifty of them and many of them look much alike, they are harder, but I still had some that I named every year, because they had distinct personalities or looks, and I could recognize them. We named the steers were were going to eat, and my cousins and I, when we marked the wrapped packages of meat, would put the name on the package, along with the cut and the date.

For example, we had an Angus-Hereford cross steer we named Raisin. So, when we butchered him, we put on the package of a chuck blade roast, "Raisin, chuck blade roast, 11/74, 2 lbs."

And when we sat down to eat that chuck blade roast, Grandma would say, "This is from Raisin." And whoever said grace would say at the end, "and thank you, Raisin, for being such a nice steer and making such good meat for us to eat, amen."

Oh me, Oh my

Editor note: This post was originally published in July 2005.  I posted an update which can be found here in October 2005.

I have started and stopped this post about a dozen times - I think for fear that you will read this and think that I am making a big deal out of nothing.  But I am hoping that people who read a blog about food will have some understanding of how mandated changes in ones diet really affect ones life.

Our household has been a bit turned upside down lately.  Jason had a doctor's appointment a couple weeks ago, and we received some news that has changed our household dynamic - and especially our relationship with food.  Before I tell you about it, I should say that he is fine, and that we are both totally committed to the assessment and the instructions that the doctors and the nutritionist have given.  Basically, it's the best answer for the moment, and is going to save him from some potential very big problems.  He has a genetic condition and something is very out of whack with the way that his body processes alcohol and fat ... it's nothing that he has done to cause this, but he is going to be able to make changes that help the condition.

So ... what has the doctor told us?

1) Jason can drink no alcohol.  Period.
2) He can only have 25 grams of fat a day.

Of course, both of these things are workable, and in light of many world events, these issues are nothing.  But for two people who have such an intense connection to food (and drink), it definitely gives us both pause.

We went into the doctor appointment kind of half expecting the fat restrictions, but the alcohol restriction kind of came out of left field.  I spent the first couple of days really kind of mourning this decision.  The first time, after the doctor's appointment, that we went out to dinner and I ordered cold sake and Jason ordered water, I cried.  It was upset at the idea that we won't be able to sit at A16 for 15 minutes going back and forth about our wine decision, and knowing that a trip to a winery won't ever be the same, or that sitting at the Absinthe bar at 3 pm on a Sunday - drinking cocktails and having french fries will be different.  Our relationship is not built on alcohol or drinking, but it's definitely a dynamic change. 

The change that is really affecting our lives on a day in and day out basis, however, is the one that has to do with the fat grams.  Twenty-five grams of fat is a small enough amount that we are working on a daily basis to be sure that he is getting enough protein and calories.  To give you an idea, here some sample things that have 25 grams of fat: 2 Starb**k's white chocolate mocha frappuccinos with whipped cream, 1 Wendy's baked potato with bacon and cheese, 4/5 of one average avocado, 1 In-N-Out cheeseburger, protein style, 1 Wienerschnitzel All Beef Chilli Cheese Dog, 1/3 of a slice of Cheesecake Factory black-out cake, 40 dry roasted almonds.  But the good news is that worked out carefully, 25 grams of fat can also include very filling, happy-making and nutritious foods.  Yesterday, J had oatmeal for breakfast and chirashi sushi for lunch and salmon, brown rice, lentils, and salad for dinner.  All on 25 grams of fat.  So it's definitely doable.

But the implication of taking numbers - the fat grams and nutritional value - and assigning them to food to determine whether the food is "good" or "bad" is what I have really been struggling with.  I am used to food being "good" if it is grown locally and with purpose, if we know the farmer, if we are happy with the way the cow or the chicken was raised.  The trick is to combine our idea of "good" with the nutritionist's idea of "good" and try and find common ground, rather than throwing out one set of principles for another.

I believe I have found a kindred spirit in the nutritionist.  She and Jason talked for about 10 minutes before I started with my questions.  The first that I asked had to do with chicken.  I told her that I don't have any interest in bringing boneless, skinless chicken breasts into our house, and asked her how I make his diet work with a whole chicken, for instance.  Her answer won me over.  The first thing she said was "Well, it would be better if you used free-range chicken than chicken raised in cages."  She went on to tell me which parts of the skin were okay (the leg because there is the least fat on parts of the animal exercised the most) and to talk with me some more about how to make it work.  We really lucked out with her.

We have been doing this for almost two weeks, and I am no longer concerned about whether we can do it.  I know that it's possible, and have better ideas of how to do it.  Now just comes the time when we really start to remember the important questions:  How did the food taste?  Where did it come from?  And did it satisfy me?  and somehow work them back into these new rules.

A lot of this change is very exciting.  We have both been wanting to get back into shape for quite a while, and this is forcing us both to.  And I am enjoying the challenge of re-jiggering my recipes and finding lots of new ones in order to be sure that we get enough variety and good food.  I definitely think that this "project," so to speak, is another new path on this food journey that I have been going through for the past few years, and I am looking forward to where it takes us.

How to store for the winter in a tiny apartment

When we came home on Sunday afternoon after a fun time picking strawberries at Swanton Berry Farm, I immediately went online and then tried to convince Jason that we should put yet another appliance in our tiny apartment:  a small freezer (isn't it cool?).  You may remember that our freezer is currently full of fish, and there is certainly not room for an entire tray of strawberries.  He didn't love the new freezer idea, and definitely didn't understand our immediate need.  I wanted it now! 

With the strawberries going bad quickly, and no new freezer in sight to store them, I decided to puree them and then store them flat in ziplocs with 1 cup each of strawberries.  The storage space required is much less than if I freeze them whole, and they will be good to defrost later and add to smoothies, lemonade, or other fun treats in the winter when we are longing for fresh summer fruit.

I am considering doing the same thing for more fresh fruit as the summer goes on.  One of the things that came up during my food tracking week was that I really want to avoid buying frozen, non-local fruit during the winter for smoothies, and this method of freezing may get me well on my way.

RSS Feed available for the Eat Local Challenge

A new feed is now available specifically for posts to this blog regarding the Eat Local Challenge.  If you would like to subscribe to this separate feed, use the link below.  (Thanks Jeff!)

http://fogcity.blogs.com/jen/eatlocalrss.rdf

Chronicle: Farmers create a market niche for eco-friendly heritage meats

"Feedlot cattle are like taking a 16-year-old teenager and putting him on a crash obesity program," [Fuller] says. They look big, but it's all fat hanging on a teen's frame. Fuller lets his cattle grow into their adult muscle.  "It's the difference between a high school athlete and a pro athlete -- they've filled out."

Interesting article in the Chronicle today featuring Farmer Ted and his heritage meats.

Ted's meats are currently available at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market (Saturdays) and at the Berkeley Farmer's Market (Thursdays + Saturdays) and rumor is that he will be branching out to new markets soon.