Planning a Locally Grown Meal
Planning a Locally Grown Meal is fun and exciting, but, I have to admit, coming home from the Farmers Market with a loaded bag of fresh produce and locally produced meats can be somewhat overwhelming.
Our Locally Grown Meal chef Leon, Lori and I have been busy planning and acquiring the produce and meat for a meal we will have this weekend. And let me tell you, there are plenty of text messages that go on with the three of us about the meal, dates and sourcing the foods.
The construct of this meal is for everything to be local.
Leon gathers his cookbooks, the three of us source the foods and, on the big day, I take pictures and ask lots of questions, Leon cooks and Lori prepares the table and sees to all the details. The result is fantastic home cooked meal.
What’s even more special is that everything has its story. From the producer who raises the protein (bison for this upcoming meal from Rolling R Ranch) to the vegetables Leon purchased at the Alexandria Farmers Market plus lettuce I purchased from Ryan Pesch of Lida Farm.
While you may not plan for a Locally Grown Meal, using the fresh ingredients that are produced local over several meals is fresh, wholesome and tastes great!
Don’t forget that during winter, you can purchase local in your mom and pop grocery store, food co-op or natural foods store.
From our pheasant Locally Grown Meal
In our local grocery, there are locally made jams and honey plus seasoning mixes.
Make connections now with growers at the Farmers Market who may, over the winter, have some produce you can purchase in January, February and beyond. Some growers raise cherry tomatoes over winter thanks to grow lights. I know a few who also raise lettuce like that.
And micro greens are often grown using grow lights and are available for year round purchase.
They may not advertise their winter offerings so ask!
And think about preserving some of that market goodness whether it’s through canning, freezing or dehydrating. I like to add some of the frozen asparagus to my scrambled eggs for a treat in January.
As we make the final prep for our own Locally Grown Meal, may this prompt you to create your own. And I hope you can share it with others and tell the story of the growers who brought it to you….
