Whatcom and Skagit County ingredients from my September 19 menu:  organic pastured pork and beef, organic pastured eggs, hormone-free cheeses, hazelnuts and hazelnut oil, organic sweet potatoes, organic lettuces, organic cucumber, organic red peppers, organic tomatoes, organic onions, all herbs (organic), organic leeks, organic shallots, organic zucchini, organic spinach, organic chard, organic radicchio, organic arugula, organic cabbage, salmon-safe apples and apple cider vinegar, honey, organic garlic, organic Romano beans, verjus, white wine, bread (flours from Washington state), fresh, wild Alaska halibut from a Whatcom-owned fishing boat.

From my September 12 menu: organic Romano beans, organic fava beans, organic corn, organic leeks, organic zucchini, organic sweet and hot red peppers, organic cherry tomatoes, organic herbs (basil, thyme, parsley, cilantro, rosemary), organic shallots, organic onions, organic garlic, organic carrots, organic spinach, organic lettuces, organic black beans, organic pastured chicken, pastured bacon, organic potatoes, hormone-free cheeses, fresh pasta, bread (Washington flours). Fresh wild Copper River salmon from Whatcom fishing boat.  From Washington state: organic nectarines, flours, red wine vinegar

souvenir t-shirt

If, when in Rome, we ‘do as the Romans do,’ it seems when in Durango, we do as Durangoans do. Which, it turns out, is pretty much what we’d do at home.

After a family reunion of sorts, floating on a houseboat on Lake Powell, our family of four stopped over for a few days with my in-laws in Durango.  Wherever I travel, I scope out the local food scene, especially the local farmers market. It was delightful to encounter a vibrant local, sustainable food culture in my husband’s  charming hometown. We happened to be visiting the very weekend of a special ‘tomato festival’ dinner, prepared by Linda, Durango’s queen of local food. (Indeed, her eatery is called ‘Linda’s Local Food Cafe’ — can’t get much more to the point than that!) I also enjoyed a lovely al fresco lunch with my mother-in-law at the James Ranch. (more on them in a separate entry)

Downtown at the Durango Farmers Market

We 'ate local' while traveling, and enjoyed a memorable (belated) anniversary dinner.

Demo table at the Durango farmers market, August 2012

San Juan Mountain region produce

At first I thought it might be a no-show due to rain; it was quieter than normal when the market opening bell rang at 10 am. But a bit of wet weather can’t discourage devoted market patrons. By 11 am, the posted demo start, I was  suddenly surrounded by a crew of youngsters  and their parents. Before I remembered to have them step back a foot or two for a little introduction, kids were examining ingredients and gobbling samples faster than I could put out more.  Mostly I am delighted at their enthusiasm for fresh, healthy foods and knowing that everything came from Whatcom County. (I mean, ya gotta love hearing a seven- or eight-year old exclaim, “Smell the fresh basil!” as he holds it up to his pal’s nose.) Still, I’m a little in awe of elementary school teachers who instinctively know how to herd young kids. My first instinct is clearly to feed people. So it felt a little chaotic, but we all had a flurry of fun.

photo: Cynthia St. Clair

Oh, and we ran out of hand-outs — a good sign that those kids will make these snacks at home — so I’m sharing the same info below.

Fresh, Local and In Season: Healthy Snacks that Kids can Make Themselves

Easy Rhubarb and Honey Dips

Wash the rhubarb stalks, cutting away brown ends and other parts that look unappetizing.  Peel the fibrous outsides of the stalks with a vegetable peeler or paring knife.  Cut the stalks into sticks about 1/2” thick and four inches long.  Dip the sticks into a local honey like those from Backyard Bees. The sweetness of honey tempers the sour rhubarb.  You might also stir honey into vanilla yogurt to enjoy your rhubarb with a creamy dip.

Nut Butter Dip 

Blend equal parts Holmquist hazelnut butter (or peanut butter or other nut butter) and fruit juice (like Bellewood Acres apple cider.)

To dip with vegetables, add a pinch each of red pepper flakes and toasted sesame oil.

To dip with fruits, add a spoonful of  honey.

Yogurt Cheese Dip

Place a flour sack towel or other very fine weave, clean piece of fabric over a fine mesh strainer. (Don’t use cheese cloth, it is too wide a weave.) Then place the strainer over a container large enough to hold it, like a large Pyrex liquid measuring cup. Place one to four cups of fresh yogurt (depending on the size of your strainer) into the fabric-lined strainer. Leave the yogurt to drain — a couple of hours for a smooth, creamy dip (you’re making Greek-style yogurt) or overnight in the refrigerator for an even thicker spread (more like the consistency of fresh goat cheese).

To dip with vegetables — e.g. sugar snap peas, carrot sticks and cucumber circles — mix into the yogurt cheese some fresh minced or chopped herbs, minced garlic, lemon zest, spices of choice like a pinch of cayenne powder and toasted cumin seeds.  Or, try blending the yogurt cheese with fresh salsa and dip with whole-grain chips. Flavored yogurt cheese is also a good sandwich spread. Another fun presentation is to pipe the herb yogurt cheese dip onto snow peas, or open a sugar snap pea to pipe the cheese along the length inside, then top with individual shelled peas.

To dip with fruit, mix in honey or maple syrup. Try sweet and savory blends for more interest: stir some honey, a pinch of cinnamon and cayenne, and fresh minced thyme, lemon balm or mint leaves into your creamy, drained yogurt. It’s quite tasty drizzled over fresh strawberries.

And hey kids: here are some really good reasons to eat yogurt (besides the fact that it tastes great):

• It’s easy to digest.
• It’s good for colon and stomach health.
• It boosts calcium for strong bones and is a great protein source.
• It increases the bioavailability of other healthy foods, meaning it helps you get more nutrients from them and so helps you grow.
• It helps boost your immunity so you resist illness.
• It helps reduce yeast infections and cholesterol.

Stay away from snacks like “yogurt-covered” raisins; they’re mostly refined sugar anyway.

“. . . truly great-tasting food — that impossibly sweet tomato, the deeply flavored leg of lamb — by definition has the right environment behind it. A delicious tomato does not originate from degraded soil. Nutrient density goes hand in hand with flavor.   And generally, the food with the most flavor comes from farmers who are local or regional, or integral to a community. You can’t treat farming like a car-manufacturing plant and expect that it will produce anything great to eat.”

******

“. . . true sustainability is about more than just deciding to cook with local ingredients or not allowing your child to have corn syrup. It’s about cuisine that’s evolved out of what the land is telling you it wants to grow.”

To read the whole thing: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304765304577482560684797868.html?mod=WSJ_Food_LeadStory

The next morning brought a freakish coincidence: just a half-day after watching those video clips at the airport, I read the news that Nora Ephron had died Tuesday night at age 71. It occurred to me, in fact, that she could have passed even as I was hearing her voice and seeing her image on my screen. The news saddened me, but I still smiled recalling how she had made me laugh. She dished up life’s experiences in her films, books and articles, spiced with wit and sauced with wisdom.

Yesterday there were tributes to her in the media. While driving, I caught an archived interview on KUOW, replayed from her November 2010 visit to Seattle. I already knew, as a fan, that food figured prominently in Nora’s life. I’d also just been reminded the night before that we shared a warm admiration of Julia Child and an abiding love for all things Paris.

It delighted me, then, to hear her tell the Seattle radio audience that a high point in her life was the beautiful filmography of the sole meuniere presented to Meryl Streep, as she portrayed Julia Child in 1940s Paris. Eating this classic French dish for the first time was the tipping point in Julia Child’s life, the one that opened her eyes to the wonders of good food. Getting that moment and image perfect on film was a career highlight for Nora. Now these were women with clear priorities! These were women who knew how to find joie de vivre in almost anything, most notably food. In fact, I read an interview of Nora in which she was asked her favorite obsession, and replied: “What’s for dinner?”

Nora Ephron, you were a gal after my heart. May you be enjoying a great meal in heaven, laughing it up with Julia.

Our Thanksgiving 2007 turkey – fresh, organic, pastured – came from a young Whatcom County farmer, new to the trade so we wanted to support her.  Aged for 24 hours, soaked for another 24 hours in simple brine and slow-roasted, it was the most delectable in our memory. We bought two 30-pound ‘family packs’ of organic, pastured beef and pork from Skagit River Ranch in Sedro Woolley. We also bought a dozen of their pasture-raised chickens, though our larger supply of chickens came from Misty Meadows in Everson. Besides eggs and a tasty variety of chicken breeds, our lamb came from this farm, too. Lovingly raised on pasture by our friends’ eldest child as a 4-H project, she then sold to us at the junior livestock auction. (We’re looking forward to another of her lambs this fall; right now he’s still grazing under her care.) For local fish and seafood, we bought directly from the boats at Squalicum Harbor, Taylor Shellfish Farm on Chuckanut and from Vis on James Street. A few times we benefited from my husband’s and friends’ fishing outings and crab pots, and once our hunting friends shared some of their gifts as well.

And there you see, with so many local people doing a great job providing fresh, sustainably grown food, it hasn’t been too hard to forego the farm life fantasy. It also helps that we can visit friends for the vicarious experience. Twice we participated in the slaughtering of our chickens, under the compassionate tutelage of farmers Mark and Melissa.  When I have more kitchen scraps than my worm bin can accept, I take a bag over to help fatten their hogs.  These visits are usually combined with play dates for our kids; my younger son and their older son are tight friends who find joy in doing farm chores together. How cool is that: good food, time with a buddy, and wholesome life lessons, all in one morning’s play!

Our 2007 deck garden: amazing what you can grow in containers!

I do have a container garden on our deck again this year and we’ve enjoyed a varied but small home-grown harvest.  It’s far from enough to sustain all of us for a year, but satisfies my green thumb. Also, for the same reason we helped process chickens, a home garden reminds my kids every day of something important: real food doesn’t come from a plastic package, but from healthy soil and with leaves attached.

Unlike Barbara Kingsolver, I didn’t keep thorough, detailed records of all my food expenses, all year. This was to be a fun experiment, not a tedious accounting job. Besides, we were more interested in achieving the local food goal than reducing expenses, and when it comes to good food I never have been very price-sensitive. Still, a stack of crumpled receipts and rough figures suggest we remained steady some months, but more often spent less than we had before. Whenever I’ve read reports of other folks eating locally around the country, they consistently reported saving money — often to their surprise.

Some people may still scoff at the notion, especially regarding organic, pasture-raised meats and eggs. Their argument is that they’re too expensive.  Granted, today these products are priced much higher than those produced by big agri-business.  But if we eat animal protein in smaller quantities, as medical and fitness experts advise, then they are an easily affordable part of a healthy diet. Using meat as an accent ingredient (e.g. in a stir-fry or pasta toss), or as a flavor booster (e.g. in a soffrito base for vegetable braises and grain dishes) is a healthy and tasty way to enjoy it. What’s more, less expensive cuts of meat become mouth-watering and tender with long, slow cooking and very little effort.

The food paradigm is gradually shifting, as more of us realize the long-range costs of cheap food and a plate that’s too heavy in animal protein (produced in feedlots, to boot.) Pesticides, trans-fats and high-fructose corn syrup – all things that allow inexpensive processed food production – are now on the danger list as their impact on human and environmental health became more widely understood. The short-term benefits of inexpensive food disappear under the shadow of long-term poor health effects. On the other hand, healthy soils and foods are inextricably linked with a healthy population.

I suppose one drawback to eating locally all year, for someone who doesn’t enjoy cooking as much as I do, is the commitment to cooking, freezing and canning a portion of the harvest to carry you through the winter. Admittedly, it sometimes wore me out. But again, this isn’t about making extra work. Imagine the tremendous personal and community impact if more households committed to eating locally just during the peak season? Or all year, but just one day a week? Or even just one week a year, like the Eat Local Week we’re in now? If you’re like my family, and others we know, it’s small steps like these that become habits, and simply experiencing how good ‘fresh and local’ tastes is compelling.  Add more changes gradually and, before you know it, you’ve become a family of locavores.

Okay, full disclosure. We weren’t absolutely strict about every ingredient, every meal, every day. Neither were the writers of those eat-local books – it’s almost impossible and would quickly turn pleasure to drudgery. We didn’t decline dinner invitations or avoid church potlucks on some haughty principle. When cooking for clients, I wouldn’t deny them a favorite dish if it contained an imported ingredient or two. At home we enjoyed selected foods that aren’t produced here and which, as a cook, I consider essential: e.g. olive oil, salt, spices and certain imported specialties. Coffee was considered local if grown and imported responsibly, then packaged and sold by Bellingham roasters.  Occasionally my husband used our bread machine with Fairhaven Mill flours, but most of our bread came from local bakeries who, the labels indicated, often used grains from Eastern Washington and other states. On the rare occasion when we ran out of milk, it was more responsible to pick up a small carton of national organic brand from the little store a mile away, just to hold us over, than to drive to town for the stuff from Whatcom cows.

Furthermore, the national model, inspired by the authors of Plenty, stipulates that food come from within 100 miles. (Originally published in Canada as The 100-Mile Diet, the U.S. publisher changed the name because Americans would assume it was about a weight-loss program. That speaks volumes about our food system.) In a slightly different approach, we more or less averaged out to 100 miles over the course of our challenge. For most of the year, whether fresh in season or preserved, easily 75% or more of our food came from within 35 miles. At other times, we extended our boundary to 200 miles to enjoy organic cherries, organic peaches, lentils and wines from Eastern Washington, and some favorite foods made elsewhere around Puget Sound.

More ambiguous but still allowed on occasion were items such as nuts. We adore hazelnuts from Holmquist Orchards in Lynden. But rather than give up other types of tree nuts that aren’t grown nearby, our loose ‘rules’ allowed us to buy organic walnuts, almonds et. al. from the Coop or Terra Organica. I reasoned that they’re locally owned businesses committed to the farmers, producers and employees of our community. With two kids, organic peanuts and peanut butter were also deal-breakers. Finally, for the rare purchases I make there, I am going to make a locavorian argument for Costco: it’s headquartered in Kirkland (within 100 miles), they reportedly treat their employees well and pay a good living wage, and they make an effort to carry Northwest products. If I need a large quantity of Beecher’s cheese, which is made in Seattle, it’s silly to pay a premium price at the Co-op when I can buy it in bulk for less at Costco.

That said, on a Co-op run during the cold, grey depths of this past winter, I was delighted with a receipt that showed just over half of my total–both in dollars and number of items–was locally grown and produced (defined as about 200 miles to incorporate B.C., eastern Washington and south Puget Sound). So, as the saying goes, “define your own local.” It isn’t about deprivation, feeling judged or acting smug. It’s about awareness that there are culinary, economic, environmental, social and spiritual benefits to this whole local eating thing – and then making a conscious choice that fits your lifestyle.

So, who were our main food sources for the challenge year? Local farmers and producers of course, either directly or via local retailers that support them. I hit the farmer’s market on Wednesdays and Saturdays, usually buying more than enough to eat fresh and freezing the rest. In addition, we continued our weekly CSA from late May into October and found many fresh, locally grown foods at the Community Coop, Terra Organica/Bargainica, Joe’s Gardens and the new Local Food Exchange. Now into our second locavore year, we’re adding a fall CSA from Growing Washington, plus some bulk crops from Cedarville Farm. Like last summer and fall, I’ll be batch-cooking, freezing and canning anything we don’t eat fresh, to enjoy throughout winter and early spring. A big commitment? Sure. But not overwhelming, and abundantly satisfying. I like going to all these places; a more sane person can just buy from fewer sources.

We also visited the farms themselves. A favorite is Blue Heron Lake Farm, our source of U-pick organic strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, to enjoy fresh and to freeze. Just down the road from the berry fields are our friends at Misty Meadows Farm, our source of organic, pasture-raised eggs since they began raising hens. There are also numerous local sources for milk, cheese and yogurt. Occasionally we enjoyed buying these products directly from the farm (though they’re available at markets), expressly for the treat of seeing the very goats whose milk went into that tangy feta. The super fresh milk and cream even tempts me to make my own ricotta and butter which can be really fun and quite easy.

We were well into our 12-month challenge last fall when apple season rolled around, and here we are again enjoying this autumn treasure by the file-size boxful. Apple varieties and pears from Bellewood Acres and Cloud Mountain Farm, delightful snacks when fresh, were also canned as sauce and frozen in crisps and pies. Apple cider, wonderful to drink, reduced and froze beautifully for later use in many baking recipes. And as any resident of this region knows, blackberries are everywhere, fresh and free for the picking and freezing.

(End of Part II)

Shonie used to run Sustainable Connections’ Food and Farming program. When I told her one day of our family food adventure and my Co-op receipt analysis – even in winter, a good percentage of our bill was local – she said her intern was collecting ‘locavore stories,’ and would I write something about ours? Sure, I replied, and eventually got around to it.  Alas, by the time I did, the intern’s SC tenure had ended and she’d moved away, hopefully with many local eating stories to finish her project. As for my article, I saved it as I would a vacation journal and that was that. 

But that Herald piece the other day prompted a search of old Mac files– I’m a digital packrat–and I found my article.  It occurs to me today, with even more people eager to eat local foods, more farmers growing incredible produce and meats, more fishers offering sustainable seafood, and more businesses working to help families access and enjoy this abundance — well, heck, maybe our story would be added encouragement. So I’m sharing it, years hence.  What follows, then, in three parts, is my account of our family’s venture into the world of local eating, written almost four years ago, but still relevant. 

May 2007-May 2008: Our Year of Eating Local

First of all, I don’t live on a farm. Nor do I have a spacious yard dotted with fruit trees and lined with raised vegetable beds. There are no free-roaming pet chickens scratching in our dirt, giving us fresh eggs every day. I don’t have a pair of milking goats, either. As one who loves to garden and cook, and who harbors romantic notions of growing virtually everything my family eats, I have fantasized such a home. But I’ll get over it.

The fact is, I live with my husband and kids on a quarter-acre lot, at the top of a small mountain in Sudden Valley. Surrounded by steep-sloped woods and pesky deer, it’s hardly the place to raise chickens or tend a big pea patch. Nevertheless, my busy family of four, including two pre-teen boys, ate locally for a year. Indeed, what began deliberately as a 12-month challenge became a way of life sometime along the way, so that the first anniversary came and went without fanfare – but with another wholesome, delicious, almost entirely local meal.

And here may be the kicker: it wasn’t all that hard. What’s more, it wasn’t expensive. It’s been fun, actually, and enriching beyond simply feeding our bodies. At the risk of sounding corny, the experience fed our spirits. It has been heartwarming to realize not only the agricultural bounty of this area, but the stewardship local farmers feel for the land and animals, and the amazing support they get from this community. How satisfying that something as fundamental as feeding my loved ones connected us physically, emotionally and spiritually with the people, land and water where we live.

How’d we do it? Well, it wasn’t cold turkey and, if we’re to be honest, that’s partly why it wasn’t terribly difficult. Like many households, we already had something of a “buy local” bias, thanks in large part to the influence of Sustainable Connections. We had also been trying to make “green living” choices; it’s a Northwest thing, right? We’d long ago switched to a few key organic foods before our first son was born; after all, those studies of so-called safe pesticide levels were done on adult bodies, not babies and kids. Thus, only organic dairy, apples, peanut butter and nitrate-free bacon made our shopping list. My breast cancer in 2004 only reinforced my wariness of pesticides and hormones in food.

When we started our challenge we were already Co-op and Terra Organica customers, and had already added CSAs to our food budget, first from Harmony Farms and later from Cedarville. We’ve enjoyed the Bellingham Farmers Market since the kids were tots, though back then it was for entertainment as much as fresh produce. We also enjoyed self-guided farm tours with the boys when they were little, just for a fun day of berry picking or visiting animals. (I can still picture them romping about Appel farm after tasting curds, singing ‘squeeeeeky cheeeeeese!’)

Still, we were inconsistent, especially during the colder months. We patronized local farmers during the peak summer season, yes. But, we were just as likely to buy large tubs of California-grown organic lettuce mix from Costco, national “big-organic” brands from Fred Meyer and out-of-season New Zealand Fuji apples and Mexico grapes at the Co-op.  These were all “certified organic” and, before I learned better, that made it a good choice. Besides, until recent years, there really weren’t other options during winter.

Over time, as I read and learned more about the industrial food system, and increasingly found superior alternatives closer to home, my commitment to local, sustainable agriculture deepened. The books Fast Food Nation, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Coming Home to Eat and Plenty, for example, all hammered home the consequences of our food choices. We realized that greens grown sustainably near home (but perhaps not certified organic) were better for us and the soil than those with the USDA organic label trucked up from California; that “free-range organic” chickens from large producers are in fact often confined, their outdoor access a small hole in a crowded coop that meets low government standards and is little more than a marketing ploy; that cows fed exclusively on grain–even if organic–still aren’t eating their natural diet and therefore are not as healthy, nutritious or tasty as pastured animals.

Finally, in May 2007, it was an account by my favorite writer about her family’s locavore year that became our personal tipping point. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver was so delightfully entertaining and inspiring, we just had to follow the example and experience some of that same family fun. So, that very month, my family took the “eat local challenge.” We bought an energy-smart deep freezer for our winter supplies, and I became more mindful of every food purchase – where and how it was grown or made, logging my receipts several times per season to monitor our progress.

(End of part I)