Tuesday, August 14: Day 14

How deep do you go? By that, I mean how deep into the food production process do you look to determine what is "local"? For example, we have several good ice cream companies here in town. The ice cream is made here. Most of the milk probably comes from within our radius, but the sugar and many of the flavorings undoubtedly do not--chocolate, coffee, coconut, and many others. Can this still count as local? Sure, if you want it to. For the purposes of our experiment, we decided it did not. But we've always given special status to locally owned companies over national chains.

So how deep do we go? I think we're going pretty deep. We're basically buying pure ingredients for almost everything--we have bought almost no "value-added" foods, or foods which are prepared in any way. The exceptions are yogurt, which is a value-added milk product. We are eating plain yogurt, so we don't face the question of added sweeteners, etc. But our yogurt does list powdered milk as an ingredient. This week I will find out where it comes from. The the elephant in the room for us is certain meat products, specifically sausages. They have a bunch of seasonings in them that we have not accounted for—pepper, fennel, coriander, and some others, depending on the type of sausage. Some of these may be local, but some certainly are not. This kind of snuck up on us—it didn't really occur to us until we were underway, so we have opted not to make an issue of it.

The question of "value-added" foods is an interesting place to study the modern food system. What we have learned is that the realities of business make it nearly impossible to have a prepared or value-added food item that can be 100% traced back to a single local area. There is of course the question of salt, but what if we overlook that? Cheese is probably the closest we can come, but my recollection is that the enzymes and cultures the cheesemakers use are purchased from elsewhere (another one to research this weekend). This is why we like to buy directly from producers—if we want to know something we just ask the guy/gal who makes or grows it.

Of course any sort of baked item is likely to have flour from Kansas or North Dakota, maybe dairy (butter, milk, buttermilk, milk protein, etc) from Wisconsin (or New York or California), oil or shortening made from commodity crops (corn, soybeans, sunflowers, or others) that are grown all over and have no traceability at all, and perhaps sugar, which may come from Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, or any number of places (and those are just the ones inside the US).

I guess where I am going with this is that the way we conceive of something as basic as a recipe is a product of a very widely-spread agricultural economy. "The system" seeks out areas that have optimum conditions for a given crop and producers there specialize in that. So getting a 100 mile apple pie is a real trick—for the crust you need wheat that comes from a fairly dry place, and you need butter or lard which come from animals that need plenty of greenery—not much overlap between the two. And of course you need the apples, which can grow a lot of places, but not in western Kansas or North Dakota where your wheat came from. And you'll need a bit of sugar, as well. Cane sugar is a tropical crop, but beet sugar is grown in wide range of climates. But if you get sugar at the grocery store, there is only a 30% chance it is from sugar beets. Sure, you can use honey or maple syrup. Each will leave its own flavor imprint on your pie, which may be good or bad depending on your taste. One thing we can guarantee is that the pie will be really soupy, as both maple syrup and honey contain a lot of water. You could maybe add a bit of tapioca or arrowroot starch to thicken it up, but those are both products of the rainforest. . . So where where does this leave us? Nowhere in particular except to make it clear that there is no "purity" to be had, and that if you choose to learn the history of your food it is a complex plot that you may have difficulty following. But it sure is interesting, and you'll meet some great people along the way and learn a lot.

Menu for today:

Breakfast: Wheat bran cereal, yogurt with maple syrup, apple cider.

Lunch: Assorted things from the fridge (hot dogs, veggies)

Dinner: Pizza from the wood-fired earth oven. Whole wheat crust, home-made tomato sauce, Farmer John's cheese and Pecatonica Valley Farms Greenbush Italian Sausage. Yummy! Dessert of whipped cream and preserved rhubarb (probably with some sugar in it, but I am not sure, maybe honey).

Sorry,no pictures. We had good friends in from out of town and they have 4 kids 7 and under. Mayhem!

—SCL

Monday, August 13: Day 13

Breakfast was delicious baguette, toasted with butter and peanut butter and cider.
Lunch for Scott was a hot dog with baguette and cider. Jen and Evie and some friends ate out today (more on that later).
Dinner was fondue made with cheese from Forgotten Valley Cheese. We dipped bread, steamed potatoes, raw summer squash and blanched green beans. We also had a cold veggie platter.







Three observations from the day:

1) We are generating almost no trash right now. The only packaging we are purchasing is milk bottles and yogurt containers which can be returned and recycled respectively. All our organic waste gets composted and office paper etc. also gets recycled.

2) Up until today we have been nearly 100% 100 mile compliant. Today, it was easier for Jen to take Evie and two friends to lunch than to come home and prepare a meal. The three young girls asked to go to a small, local place with excellent fresh food. They are not partcipating in Buy Fresh, Buy Local yet, but we can work on them. The girls specifically requested lunch at this place, knowing that they have yummy, fresh options--the next generation is thinking about their food!

3) Many people have said to us some version of the following: "I think what you are doing is great and we would love to eat like that but I could never give up X." Well, if there is only one thing maybe it is time to evaluate if you really can or can't live without it. Maybe it is time to investigate the most responsible way to obtain X (the big ones we hear about are coffee and chocolate, both of which are available in combinations of organic or fair trade or both, depending on what you value). Maybe it is time to live satisfied and happy with the amount of local goods you do buy. But spread the word. As with so many things, a lot of people doing a little is a far more powerful force than a few people doing a lot.

Sunday, August 12: Day 12

If you walked into our house today you would be bowled over by the overwhelming feeling that you were walking into a giant tomato. I started making sauce at around 5:00 am and by the time I was satisfied with the thickness it was 3:00 pm and I had 12 quarts ready. Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year and it gives me such pleasure to put up food for the coming colder months. Luckily I have an extremely generous friend who lets me share her giant freezer--this means I can can less and freeze more! (Maybe I Can-can less too! Can you tell I have been breathing lycopene all day!)

Breakfast was a modest affair of leftover bread products and cider. Lunch was "things we can grab while we sweat" and included glorious local peaches that brought tears to my eyes with their deliciousness, tomatoes (shocking!), cheese curds, carrots, a tiny melon and apples. Dinner will be out at my parents' house and will be roasted chicken, potatoes, chard, kohlrabi, and our-of-this-world peaches and strawberries (thank goodness for the everbearing variety!)



Scott baked our bread for the week in our wood fired oven today--all 100 mile certified and delicious!

I am posting early today because we are headed out for dinner in the country and watching the Perseid meteor shower. We have been overwhelmed this week with people's generosity of time, knowledge and food. Thank you to all who are enthusiastic about our project, we are thrilled that so many people find this experiment interesting. Some of you eat like this already and want to know that there are "more out there." For others of you these ideas are new--thanks for coming along for the ride

Saturday, August 11: Day 11

Today was, once again, food procurement day. Scott went to the Dane County Farmers' Market as usual. He also went to the Westside Community Farmers' Market (for milk and yogurt) as usual.










We also got food from two new sources today. First, we are lucky to have a friend who goes out of town at this time each year and we get her CSA box from Harmony Valley Farm (click the link for a list of what was in today's box). Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a partnership between a grower and a consumer whereby the consumer pays to cover the farm's operating expenses in exchange for a portion of the harvest. The business idea originated in Japan where the practices is called teikei, literally "putting a farmer's face on food." Belonging to a CSA is great for people interested in eating locally but who choose not to garden or who want more variety than one family's garden can provide. CSA is a relationship that provides a healthy business, healthy land stewardship and delicious food to eat! You can pick a CSA with with mostly standard produce or pick one that throws in the unusual occasionally. We had fresh amaranth greens in our box today and served them as a salad with a warm bacon and shallot vinaigrette (our vinegar is finally ready!) We also got two exotic melons (Butterscotch and Orange French) that we can't wait to try. For more info on local CSA options in Madison contact the Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition. Click here to find a CSA anywhere in the US.






The second place we visited knocked my socks off. It is a farm West of Madison called The Tree Farm (thanksKevin!) The place has been in business since 1973 and is a pick-your-own vegetable and tree farm. They have tomatoes, cucumbers, okra, potatoes, herbs, flowers--you name it! The quality is wonderful, the quantity is staggering, the setting is amazing and the prices and fantastic. You must bring your own containers and follow their rules (nothing onerous) and the joy of harvest can be yours. Honestly, after today I feel I never have to yearn for a giant garden again. I can go harvest every year and preserve for winter. We picked a few tomatoes (ahem!) and sauce is reducing in our kitchen as we speak.


It took the whole day and quite a few dollars to outfit ourselves for another week of feeding ourselves from our immediate surroundings. I appreciate the hard work of farmers more than ever and I marvel at the diversity and succulence of what grows right here at home.

Oh yeah--what we ate:
Breakfast: toast with peanut butter and cider and blueberries
Lunch: snacked on produce and cheese and crackers all day
Dinner: cornbread, amaranth salad with bacon, corn on the con, red peppers and cucumbers

Friday, August 10: Day 10

One of the greatest inspirations of this project has been the number of people who have been motivated to join us, even if for just a day. Today we were invited for dinner at the home of friends, and the meal was made to the same criteria we have been using at home (all except dessert, thank goodness!). We had an appetizer of fried squash blossoms stuffed with havarti cheese (excellent), a delicious chowder of corn and fingerling potatoes with bacon, and Greek-style lamb burgers with feta and garlic served with yogurt sauce, cucumbers, and tomatoes on homemade whole wheat pita. Dessert was out-of-radius: flourless chocolate cake, but as I love bread, Brook loves chocolate, so I wouldn't have had it any other way. The whipped cream and strawberries were legit, though.

My lunch was a pot pie made of all leftovers--a scrap of pie crust and some bits of chicken and veggies laying around from prior meals. We were all separate today, so I have no idea what the others ate. I love pot pies, so I never throw away scraps from pie making. This was 100% whole wheat and a bit old, so the color was a bit off-putting (quite brown with a tinge of greenish-yellow to it) but the flavor was very good.

Breakfast was toast and yogurt, plus a bit of that yummy yogurt smoothie drink.

Busy day tomorrow: 2 farmers' markets and a visit to a pick-your-own place to stock up on tomatoes for sauce. May also need to make a separate stop for cider (can't live without it anymore) and I'll also have to scavenge some firewood for the bread oven.

—SCL

Thursday, August 8: Day 8

What did we eat today?

For Breakfast: Toast with butter and/or peanut butter and Raspberry Yogurt smoothie from Sugar River Dairy (probably a bit of a cheat as I think it has sugar in it, but it was a gift from a very supportive friend)

For Lunch: Grilled cheese (hooray, the king is back!) with tomatoes from the driveway.


Dinner: Leftover roast chicken, sweet corn, boiled potatoes with herb butter, green beans sauteed with tomato sauce, shallots, and some other goodies (they were getting a bit old), and Jen's signature beet slaw (grated beets sauteed with jalapenos and shallots). They were chiogga beets, which is why they look sort of putty-colored in the photo. Fresh they are spectacular. If you cut one it reveals concentric rings of white and bright pink.

As you can see, we now have sandwich bread, which Jen and Evie are thrilled about. I myself have turned into the bread grinch. I think it is too crumbly and both too bitter and too sweet at the same time. Instead of rising and doming in the pans, as soon as it cleared the top it oozed over the side so I had to flop it back in. I'm glad my family is happy with it, but truly there is no accounting for some people's taste.


Now for the lecture. . .

Someone asked recently what we normally eat. I think that the underlying question is, how much of a departure is this for us, really?

In terms of menu, in a typical week (where we are home all 7 nights), I would guess that 1 or 2 nights we make something super-fast because we have to be someplace. Examples would be grilled cheese or breakfast-for-dinner (pancakes, french toast, or scrambled egg sandwiches). Basically something with zero prep. Then we have a bunch of "routine" meals that we make so often that they go together quickly, such as pizza (we know how to time it so well that even homemade crust seems quick), stir fry, burgers or sausage on the grill, any of several noodle dishes, etc. These cover us for probably 4 nights a week. Then once or twice in a week we'll have something more elaborate. Often it's something new we saw on a cooking show, sometimes it is an old favorite that takes a lot of elbow grease. Mexican flavors are a favorite, roast chicken or turkey, onion soup gratinee, and any number of dumplings (dumplings are something of a specialty of mine), such as potstickers, latkes, meatballs, samosas, steamed pork buns, pan-fried gnocchi, and some others. Not that the finished meals are always elaborate--they seldom are--but I like to fuss over things in the kitchen, and if you've ever made samosas, you understand the time commitment.

In terms of the substance of what we eat, there are some things that are off the table with a 100 mile radius in effect. The list of kitchen staples I normally rely on but am currently without is a bit grim—olive oil (how about "all of" oil, as I have no liquid fats at all), black pepper, balsamic vinegar, curry powder, cumin, coriander (could probably get this if I could figure out how to harvest it from a cilantro plant), white and brown sugar, citrus, and on and on. As Jen noted previously, at this time of year there is so much in season that you can eat fresh and do just fine--but this project does give an increased understanding of where the stuff in all those little bottles comes from. The modern kitchen is like a United Nations in a cupboard. I guess there's a reason people were willing to pay someone to sail around the world and collect the stuff for them as far back as the 1600s (1500s?).

But back to the question. Most of the mass of what we eat is normally procured from local sources--the meat, eggs, milk, cheese, and vegetables in season. Dry goods are the big exception--sugar and flour (and man, do we go through flour). For most of the year, we have 3 food shopping destinations—a farmers market, our natural foods co-op (the excellent Willy Street Co-op) and a mainstream grocery store. This felt weird to me, but I just heard a story on NPR that it has become typical for Americans to hit 2 or 3 stores to get everything they want, so I guess at least in this respect we are somewhat typical. At the grocery store we normally get some dairy (still local!), stuff like orange juice, and some prepared items like crackers, plus household supplies like garbage bags, toilet paper, and soap (and our beloved Ghirardelli 60% cocoa chocolate chips which they have at a great price--oh how I miss them). As the selection of fresh stuff at the farmer's markets falls off we shift more to the Willy Street Co-op (non-local organics out of season, of course). By mid-winter the farmer's market is pretty much down to meat, potatoes, cheese, eggs, maple syrup, and honey (heaven for me, but I am told you can't live on it, so we are forced to shop elsewhere to supplement).

So that gives you a picture of what our food life is like most of the time. We are all eager to see how much our shopping, cooking, and eating habits change as a result of this experiment.

—SCL

Out to Lunch

There are two takes on the above phrase, this post will address both.

1) What if you are really committed to supporting local small farms, what if you love fresh local flavors AND what if you want to go out for lunch? Luckily there is an exciting new campaign out there called Buy Fresh, Buy Local. Buy Fresh, Buy Local is the brainchild of the FoodRoutes Network which creates partnerships with community-based nonprofit organizations across the country already involved in nurturing strong regional markets for locally grown foods. Each local organization creates and implements a Buy Fresh, Buy Local marketing campaign to bridge the gap between community farmers and consumers. Thanks to REAP (Research, Education, Action, and Policy on) Food Group you can click here for the Buy Fresh, Buy Local participants in Madison. Click here for a list of all the local organizations (nationwide) involved with Buy Fresh, Buy Local. Don't see your favorite restaurant? Give them the above Madison (or national) link and ask them to contact the local coordinator!

2)The other meaning of "out to lunch" is checked out, uninformed, uninterested or not paying attention. Someone left a comment a few days ago that they enjoy our blog but feel it should be reaching people who don't already know about benefits of local eating the, "HCFS devotees," or people who may not have easy access (for whatever reason) to local food. One of the best ways to reach people with these ideas is to feed them. Here in Madison we have Wisconsin Homegrown Lunch: A Midwest Farm-to-School Program. The mission of Wisconsin Homegrown Lunch is:

"To introduce healthy foods grown locally and sustainably to Wisconsin schoolchildren while developing stable markets for the producers and processors of those foods. By building respectful, working relationships between school educators, the school food service and our local food producers, we will establish a Midwest farm-to-school model to grow and thrive into the future."

Again, REAP is leading the way. Can you tell I love this organization?

So, it all comes back to eating. Choose restaurants that participate in Buy Fresh, Buy Local. Introduce the idea to restaurants that don't know about it yet. Feed people fresh, local, sustainably raised food, get them involved in the growing and preparation and the devotion will follow.