The Big Day

Yesterday was the big day. Kicking off a new decade and my plan to increase awareness of local food options. The movement is already well on its way. I’m just giving it a nudge here in Lawrence and trying to guide the wave to include our small city.

I was reading Amy Cotler’s new book “The Locavore Way” over the weekend. Her subtitle is totally appropriate for my purposes – Discover and Enjoy the Pleasures of Locally Grown Food. Guess she was reading my mind when she wrote it.

She very clearly gives suggestions of how to go about making a change in our own lives. Check out her website.
She shares some great ideas like asking your supermarket manager if they have any locally grown or locally produced goods. You might think that something that sounds so typically New England like maple syrup or Apple Cider was grown up the street, right? Did you know that it can actually get to you by way of Canada or China (the cider that is). You know what they always say about ass-u-ming that you know all about it don’t you? I like Amy’s mantra “Ask, ask, ask.” It might just lead to an interesting conversation.

Or while you are out to dinner, ask what is local on the menu. You don’t even have to do the cooking that way! That is what we did for my birthday dinner last night at Evenfall Restaurant in Haverhill. They have a great menu with some very special dishes. It is a little early for much that is just picked here but they served fresh Arugula from Brox Farm (our friend Farmer Dave again). Also on the menu was fresh Maine crabcakes! Yummy!

Seriously, do your own taste test with something fresh picked and local versus something from where ever the big store has shipped some fruit or veggies and you will see the difference. No contest!
Apples right off the tree, nothing better in late Summer and Fall!

We’ve all been used to just buying what the store has, get it quick and get home, for years. We all have to eat, so why not eat something that tastes really great? It can’t hurt to be more informed about what you are putting on your plate. For me it’s been a kind of adventure that is just getting started.