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This is a great children's bookstore in Long Beach. I had to actually do research to hunt down an independent bookstore in the area. The woman working here told me that there are only 10-15 in the entire Los Angeles area that she's aware of -- that's only about 1 per every 35 square miles. We are lucky in San Francisco to have so many independents within a small range of our town.
Once Upon a Story Books
3740 E Fourth Street
Long Beach
I'm in Long Beach this week and told Jason I would post a picture each day I am gone. This one is from last night, as Mom and I took a walk along the bay. Some parts of Long Beach have such a small town feel. Ten minutes into our walk, we ran into some people we know and sat and had a glass of wine with them while watching the sunset.
Lucero Farms
Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market, May 20
This picture was taken at the early hour of 9.30 am. Rumor has it that they ran out of berries within a half-hour! Though I was bummed to miss the berries, I was happy to see a farmer selling out of all his product. Lucero's berries have been my favorite this year.
(Photo Credit: Tea)
We're ten days into the Eat Local Challenge and I thought I'd actually focus for a moment on what we're doing personally for our Eat Local Challenge.
I think that I am in a much different head space this year than last August when I took the challenge. You might remember that it was last June when we found out that Jason could only eat a very limited fat diet. So by the time August came around, I was only about six weeks into completely changing the way I cooked. I was doing okay with that on it's own, but adidng the challenge of eating locally was a little harder than I let on at the time.
Now, I feel much more comfortable with cooking low-fat. I've been successfully cooking that way for about eleven months. You wouldn't know it looking at my waistline, but have you seen J lately? He lost about 25 pounds. While weight wasn't the primary issue, the doctors were thrilled. His triglycerides are now back to normal and will stay that was as long as he continues to eat low-fat and not drink alcohol.
I think that there is a certain comfort that comes with taking the challenge for the second time. We trained ourselves last August to find out where our food was coming from, and to make decisions based on those answers. That didn't turn off on September 1. So the May challenge is, in many ways, a continuation of habits we have applied to our everyday lives.
To prepare for May, I found myself doing small things that I am thankful for now: I preserved lemons for the first time, I salted local sardines (that's a good story that will wait for another post), and I bought popsicle molds to make local fruit popsicles (we are addicted to popsicles and I wanted to try making them for this challenge).
The photos in this post are of the first week of dinners at our house. The pictures kind of make me laugh because they make it seem like we are the most boring home cooks ever. While the basic premise was the same every night (rice + protein + 2/3 veggies), the flavors were pretty different each night. Most mornings, I ate strained Straus yogurt,
walnuts (Full Belly), dried fruit (Hidden Star Orchard / Lagier) and honey (Marshall's). Lunches were usually leftovers for me, and takeout from the Financial District for J.
Dinner Day One: Brown rice (Lundberg), calypso beans (Rancho Gordo), steamed chard with lemon and leeks (Eatwell /
Hamada), pea shoots (Brooks & Daughters).
Dinner Day Two: Brown rice (Lundberg), roasted asparagus (Full Belly), Dietsel turkey, runner cannelini beans (Rancho Gordo), pickled cabbage (Riverdog)
Dinner Day Three: Brown rice (Lundberg), artichokes (Full Belly), fennel (Eatwell), pickled cabbage (Riverdog), Diestel turkey.
Dinner Day Four: White sushi rice (Koda Farms), shiitake mushrooms (Solano Mushroom Co.), Snap Peas (Eatwell), rotisserie chicken from Roli Roti.
Dinner Day Five: Pork chop (Black Sheep Farm), spinach (Eatwell), Florida butter beans (Rancho Gordo), snap peas, shiitake mushrooms (Solano mushroom company).
Some of these meals included a dab of sesame oil and some Bragg's amino acids (nonlocal).
The Locavores guidelines for this challenge are:
If not locally produced, then organic.
If not organic, then family farm.
If not family farm, then local business.
If not local business, then terroir.
1. What's your definition of local for this challenge? Local will be anything within 100 miles of San Francisco.
2. What exemptions will you claim?
3. What is your personal goal for this month?
To ask questions. To understand if there is a reasonable local substitute for an ingredient. If not, to find the most sustainable provider of that ingredient following the Locavore guidelines. To never make others uncomfortable with the choices that I have made for my own diet.
I am very proud to announce that the Eat Local Challenge site has launched. If you haven't had a chance to check it out, please do so. A lot of hard work has gone into it already. Ever since inviting over 30 people to be authors of the site, I have been astounded on a daily basis when reading the content they are generating and the enthusiasm that they all have for the site. Many of the posts deserve recognition, but a few standout posts include:
A Few Tips for the Eat Local Challenge by Jamie
Walking the Walk, Eating my Talk by Julie Cummins
Why I Do It by Cookiecrumb
The Great Egg Hunt by Heather C.
Additionally, today I posted a really fun local cheese guide which was written by Stephanie Lucianovic from the Grub Report.
Check it out!
Any of you who have been to the Blue Bottle Coffee Company kiosk or one of their farmers' market booths have probably met Steve Ford, who was a constant presence at Blue Bottle until he recently left for Ecco Cafe in Santa Rosa. Steve was also the writer behind Blue Bottle Clown College, and many food bloggers met him last year at the Bay Area Picnic.
I just found out (via SFist) that Steve fell out of a three-story window last month and broke his back and his ankle. He's recovering at his home in Oakland.
For more info, best to read about it on his blog. A friend of his is doing a pretty funny t-shirt as a fundraiser, and his friends at coffeegeek have arranged a fund to help cover some medical expenses.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Steve!
photo courtesy of flourphoto.
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