I descended upon Brooklyn this week and I intentionally did not tell my parents about this project, hoping to see how much local food they naturally consume in a week. The answer, delightfully, is that it appears that about 80% of their diet is local and their plan works like this: Go to as many farmer's markets during the week as you possibly can (they use tote bags there, so there is minimal packaging). Then, buy any other necessary food items from locally owned businesses (example: the excellent Caputo's Fine Foods on our corner, wherein they make their own pasta, cheeses, soups and sauces) and then, finally, after exhausting all other possibilities, they might venture into a larger store, like Fairway. It's brilliantly simplistic: they really are relying on local supplies for most of their food (with the aid of cookbooks organized by season), and only need purchase the extra seasonings (salt, etc) from non-local sources, while the most important main ingredients remain seasonal and local.
My first night home, we ate delicious beef stew (Beef, from Arcadian Pastures in Sloansville, NY; carrots and parsnips from Phillips Farm in NJ; mushrooms and broth, sadly, traveling foods) and mashed potatoes (Potatoes, from NY; cream cheese, traveling; butter from Vermont).
For breakfast the next day we had blueberry scones (flour, from Vermont [the most local you can buy in New York City]; butter, from Vermont; blueberries, frozen from Winter Harvest, (CSA); sugar, baking powder, etc, traveling) with locally-made jam. Yum!
Of course, I do not normally eat like this when I live on my own. For one thing, there are a ridiculous amount of farmer's markets in New York, and many of them meet year-round. In Brooklyn alone, there are loads of markets every day of the week. However, in Cambridge I think I do pretty well, eating mostly unprocessed foods- food that I create from the raw products that I purchased. I spend time thinking about what I eat and how to get it in the best way, even when there aren't a lot of options.
But this eating style- this eating style of my parents that I spent the last six years of my life living (and, let's face it, complaining about)- is a whole other level.
Solid work, folks!
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Sounds delicious, Alex. Except for the beef bit ... ;)
ReplyDeleteThe beef sounds good to me! I have been nearly vegetarian for several years, but after being introduced to the Westin Price diet and the benefits (and flavors) or grass fed meats, I indulge in some high quality meat every few weeks. And I feel like a winner eating delicious butter and cheese and yogurt :-) For anyone who hasn't read about the Westin Price Foundation, check it out. It will turn everything you thought you knew about fat on its head!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.westonaprice.org/
I miss the farmer's markets in New York too, Alex. I find it interesting how the most densely populated city in the U.S. has one of the most successful green market programs in the country. Here in the UK, farmer's markets are very hard to come by. There are local butchers where you can get lots of UK-raised meats, and in the supermarkets, most produce is labeled with its country (or for UK foods, county) of origin. I find that very helpful because it has dissuaded me from buying pea pods from Kenya or snap peas from Peru on more than one occasion!
ReplyDeleteI also like your use of the word "traveling" in your post. It still communicates that the food isn't local without shaming us for purchasing/eating it.
Yes, I first used traveling food as an experiment with 6 year-olds, and it really helped them grasp the concept that food doesn't just appear in the grocery store, but it comes from somewhere. I like it a lot, because it's, as Brian said, a non-shameful way to acknowledge where our non-local food comes from.
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