Category Archives: Dark Days

That is the dilemma. I have been researching the sources of food from the nearest markets and artisanal vendors where many items I use in cooking originate. It has been most enlightening to find that what I may think is local, really isn’t. And, what I may think is organic, is or isn’t, and even then, what does organic mean on some of the foods I buy?

I have become more of a locavore in the past seven years, removing many items from my diet that created problems due to allergies or sensitivities. I have been decreasing the amount of foods with preservatives, and cooking with fresh or flash frozen items. I have gotten farther and farther away from canned or jarred or frozen sodium laden foods.

Things that I believed were produced using local ingredients, weren’t always. They may have been produced locally, but work down the ingredient list and WOW! — eye opening at best. Organic has become a real buzzword as well.

I know some background on how wine is labeled. Pick a local wine and see American on the label and it isn’t grapes from the state where the winery is located. You have to look for the word Estate on the label to ascertain if the grapes were from the vineyards, or the grapes may have been trucked in, or juice brought in.

I have been looking hard at our local organic bread makers. Is it more important to have local grains, or organic grains, or what?

I am committed to reducing my carbon footprint and replacing items flown halfway around the world with items available locally. I also believe passionately in supporting small local entrepreneurs even if they don’t use 100% local ingredients, but look for quality natural, maybe organic or IPM fruits and vegetables. Many sources of my foods are moving in that direction. Keeping them viable by supporting them is more important to me.

I am starting my own personal challenge of cooking at least one “Small Business Sustaining” meal each week, as well as doing Dark Days. It may not be big or exciting but it is my way of making a tiny difference.

Real Time Farms has inspired me. I think it is a great resource and I will be using it to look for more sources even after Dark Days are over.

Dark Days Challenge begins today.

Details are here.

I hope to cook my first dark days meal tonight, so I wanted my rules set out before starting.

I am using a 50 mile radius for how far I may have to travel to source the food items, and 100 miles for origination of the food items. I will probably use the 150 mile radius for wine, since I know we will go winery hopping at least once this winter to Charlottesville VA which is about 125 miles as the crow flies from our location. If someone brought me a gift from their travels and it was made locally to them, I will use it.

Meat, seafood, dairy, veggies, and bread/pasta will all come from the 100 mile radius with the exception of oysters and fish, which can come from anywhere on the Chesapeake Bay. I can get them at local farmer’s markets all winter, but don’t know how far the fishermen and oyster men must sail to catch them, or gather the oysters.

My philosophy as a locavore is more pointed in the direction of supporting local small businesses and farmers, even if they use some non-organic or non-locally sourced items to make their foods.

Such as: fruit in some of the cheeses like cranberries; spices and herbs in the meats and cheeses and breads. The Breadery, where much of my bread comes from, mills their own grains but sources it from outside the area. Not much grain growing in Maryland.

Not all of the local vendors have gone through the arduous process of becoming certified organic, but they apply IPM, or in the case of meat vendors, they are as natural as we can get. No antibiotics, hormones, and mostly grass fed, or free range.

Dinner tonight is going to be a sweet potato galette using The Slow Cook’s recipe, and turkey breast from my Thanksgiving turkey with the last of the blueberry chutney brought back from a summer in Maine by a friend who volunteers with me.

I also hope to eat most meals at home using a majority of local items, even on the days I am not doing the 100% sourced meal to meet the challenge.

Here’s hoping I can be successful in becoming more of a year round locavore, and not just a casual summertime one, which I was in the past.