Locally Lucky

Okay, I have a confession. Up until recently, I didn’t really care that much about buying organic, and buying locally was just a fun novelty. I knew I should care, and I guess I did care, but I had a hard time connecting my principles to my actions. And even though I would have preferred to buy all my groceries at co-ops, it was easier and cheaper to just keep doing things the conventional way.

But like I say, that was up until recently. Maybe it’s been creeping up on me little by little, but it feels like over the past month, something clicked into place and convinced me that my principles were worth living by. I think it’s the combination of the start of the growing season, the One Local Summer challenge, and the fact that I’ve FINALLY got ’round to reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma.
I’ve definitely been keeping my eyes open for locally produced food. Those of you who live in areas with long growing seasons probably think that eating locally in Minnesota must be the most boring thing ever. Sure, there’s some fruit and green stuff for a couple of months, but then what? Months and months of winter squash? But I’ve had some exciting discoveries.
I’m most enthusiastic about two milling companies I’ve come across, Whole Grain Milling and Swany White Flour Mills (I don’t think either company has their own site). They make a variety of products, including some things I’m looking forward to buying once I run out of my current stock — corn chips, flour, oats, etc.
And although getting protein locally could be a challenge as a vegetarian (and certainly trickier for a vegan!), the co-ops stock locally grown beans (kidney beans, black turtle beans, chickpeas, and lentils are what I can actually remember seeing), and I even found gluten flour today — perfect for making local seitan!
Anyway, the peanut butter above isn’t local (but it is organic and delicious, and the honey came from an hour or so north of here), but I feel like I really lucked out at the supermarket today. I’m going to start simmering some local ‘Southwestern’ bean soup soon (a dry mix made, I think, by WGM); I’ve got seven-grain pancake mix for this weekend, which I know will taste great with Minnesota maple syrup; there’s yogurt in the fridge that was made just over the way that I can top with compote made from locally grown rhubarb.
So, yeah, my one local summer is looking pretty good so far.