I want to eat local, and from an article that I read recently, that means within 300 miles of where I live AND within the same state.
So, we tootled up to Paonia last weekend (about 159 miles away) and did the local thing I used to do every summer: picked cherries and ate more of them than my digestive system liked.
While we were in Paonia, we also stocked up on local meat from Homestead Market, a coop that sells locally produced meat from around the North Fork Valley.
We've also been patronizing the Durango Farmer's Market buying steak and eggs.
So, here is the dilemma: It is expensive to eat local.
Though my garden is supplementing much of the vegetables we eat, our portion of cherries cost $26 (thoughtfully paid for by Scott's parents), the dehydrator cost $75 (I opted for the less expensive model- they can be up to $175), the pectin, canning jars, lids, and hot water tongs can add up to over $40, and the electricity it takes to dehydrate a several batches of cherries for 14 hours at a time isn't nominal.
I know that if we break these costs down, it will be much less than compared with buying cherries at the store ($6 for a bag of dehydrated cherries!), but what about the meat from the farmer's market?
Farmers Markets have become so popular for tourists and the social elite that prices have gone up. I am not complaining (too loudly) because I know the amazing amount of work and care that goes into raising food, and it SHOULD be expensive to compensate these people for this nobel contribution to society. I know the difference between meat bought at Walmart and the Farmer's Market, but how can people afford it, especially during these rough economic times?
Luckily, I'm not the only one going back to the land to supplement my food supply. The revival of "
victory gardens" and
raising food at home is on the rise. 10% of Americans are returning to the land, saving money, and working together as families and neighbors to bring food to the table.
Why did it take an economic downturn for us to realize, gardening makes good scents/cents/sense?
Kale: Cookin' it up with garlic, butter and breadcrumbs just like Grandma used to.
Beans: I picked and ate the first few Golden Bacau two days ago. Yum.
Zucchini: Slowly but surely it is coming out. We made fried squash blossoms stuffed with goat cheese for dinner tonight.
Potatoes: Duh. These little diggers keep forever, and besides, we eat them as fast as we pull them out.
Beets: Canned up and ready for the middle of winter.
When you pick cherries from trees, it doesn't look like much. But when we got them home I realized we have LOTS of cherries.
I bought a dehydrator and started drying them in the form of cut up cherries and fruit leather. We also have two tubs of frozen pie cherries (frozen in sugar water 1 cup to 8 cups ratio).
I made jam after I watched Scott's sister work her magic with pectin and a little bit of sugar, but I don't think mine set up. I bought brandy and used it to fill the gaps in a jar of pitted cherries.
Cherries everywhere.
I want to eat local, and from an article that I read recently, that means within 300 miles of where I live AND within the same state.
So, here is the dilemma: It is expensive to eat local.
Last weekend was finally spent on the river, with a group of awesome ladies from all over who came together to be in the flow. Victoria FittsMilgrim asked me to help guide this group for her True Life Coaching and Retreats.
Even the bad weather was good. Wind took us by surprise the second day, but the river's high flows kept us moving down to Blackrocks.
The next day I hiked upstream and a lizard and I had a meaningful stare down. He won.
Now is the time of summer when everything is planted and the only work that needs to be done is weeding. Sure, there is the fertilizing, or adding iron for plants looking yellow, but mostly it is wait n' weed.
It isn't there yet. Unlike the peas at left, which are producing like crazy.
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