Local Eating Summer Recap

Well, clearly we slacked off on the blogging towards the end of the summer... but, to be fair, we were both extremely busy!!  But, enough about that, back to the point of this blog.  Our official end date, as stated at the start of our experiment, was September 1, so I wanted to give a little bit of a recap now.  We are by no means done eating local food; we're still getting our CSA box weekly, and other things we discovered will remain mainstays in the future, but some other things will also be creeping back in!

Overall, it has been a really cool experience, and, really, not as difficult as we expected.  There's just a lot of good, local food out there, especially in the summer!  Certainly it took some effort and we missed some things, but we ate pretty darn well and found some fun new foods and local alternatives to others, as well as some great new recipes.  So here's a little summary of our summer local eating experiment:

Favorite New Food

• Mike: Turnips and radishes - specifically when they are baked, because they become sort of sweet, like the way onions do, and they are a really fun addition to lots of dishes!
• Pam: Turnips - I would never have tried them but they have a fun and unique taste I love! Especially baked!

Least Favorite New Food

• Mike: Rapini - honestly, it's just kind of pointless.  Other greens are tastier, and if I wanted broccoli, I would just eat broccoli!
• Pam: There wasn't anything I would have spit out...

Favorite New Recipe/Dish

• Mike: German Potato Salad - It's just so ridiculously delicious!  I mean, really, check out the recipe and tell me that wouldn't be outrageously good.  I dare you.  Now I need to try making my college roommate's mom's recipe for it...
• Pam: Root veggie bake & homemade/invented hamburger helper - my own invented recipe that of course includes turnips!

Most Missed

• Mike: Avocados - oh my goodness, I missed them soooo much.  On sandwiches, in the form of guacamole, or even just plain.  They're just too good!!
• Pam: Juice, especially orange juice!

Best Local Alternative (These are things that we previously ate but for which were able to find new local sources)

• Mike: Sausage from Fischer Meats in Issaquah - this sausage is to die for, oh my goodness.  They have some many amazing flavors, but my favorite would have to be the cranberry walnut.  Yeah.  Out of this world.
• Pam: CB's Peanut Butter = Amazing!!  Will continue to eat it always!  (Available in bulk, grind-your-own at the Everett Co-op!  Also at PCC)

And now, about the alcohol (written by Pam)

Even though we already drank pretty locally, we were still able to find some fun new northwest brews and wines that have become go-to favorites for us.  It was fun to find some additions to our favorites list.

Beer:

• Fire Station 5 Brewing Company (IPA = Pam's fav!) - Available at Fred Meyer, try the 12-pack variety pack, all 4 beers in it (IPA, Blonde, Amber, Hef) are delicious!

• Fish Brewing Company - Ok, this one's not exactly new, I've always loved them, but I recently bought one of their 1-gallon growlers that I can get filled up at their brewpubs, including their new Everett location!  LOVE IT!

Wine:

• Chateau St. Michelle Riesling - Great summer wine, goes well with the German Potato Salad.

So, we're definitely looking forward to some things re-entering our diet (juice, pasta, cereal, rice, avocados, etc.), but some other things have definitely found their way into our normal diet, which is pretty cool.  One of the most encouraging things, I think, was finding out how easy it really is to eat locally.  Even if you don't eat 100% locally (and, don't want to shock you, but I'm afraid we didn't quite...), the more food you can get locally, the better.

Thanks for following along on our journey, now go out and support your local farmers and enjoy the most delicious, fresh food you'll ever eat!  Sounds like a win-win to me!