Week One(ish) update

So, my tryst into locavorism is going rather well, actually. It is so easy to get overwhelmed and try to be perfect, and it can turn something should be rewarding into something that is stressful instead. To try and avoid a meltdown, and I just taking things slowly and kind of following the layout I outlined in my last post – focusing on the items that are easiest to find locally first, and then slowly adding on.

I mentioned before that milk, eggs, and other dairy products would be the easiest to source locally, and it turns out, I was right! Last week I stopped by Taft Farms to pick up some Ronnybrook Creamline milk and some local eggs (Ronnybrook Farm is in N.Y. about thirty miles from where I live). And yes, their eggnog is the nog that was featured on Best Thing I Ever Ate last week (and yes, I picked some of that up, too – delicious!). Then I decided to take it one step further, so I joined a winter CSA with Cricket Creek Farm, a dairy farm just a little north from me. Every week, I will get a share of fresh milk, eggs, and cheese. They also have a farm store with a bounty of other local products, including some meat, other dairy products, baked goods, preserves, and more. So, that’s taken care of.

Meat has been super easy, too – a trip to Guido’s, which is right up the street from me, makes it convenient – and their meat and seafood prices are really reasonable, too – an unexpected but welcome surprise! Guido’s is also a good source for fruits and veggies, but the exact origin is not always apparent – for example, a bag of spinach may read “Grown in the USA” but not b any more specific than that. For specifics, the Berkshire Co-op has proven to be a goldmine. They even name the exact farm – I got some salad greens from Equinox Farm in Sheffield last week, as well as a tub of Monterey Chevre. I made sme yummy quiche from my spinach, chevre, milk, and eggs a few days ago.

Finally, a made a loaf of bread that used King Arthur Flour – for lunch today I think I’ll have a grilled cheese made from Cricket Creek Farm cheese and my homemade bread. Yum-o!

P.S. What do you all think of the new design?