Something old, something new

Starting this blog made me get a little more serious about eating local. So a couple weeks ago I got a local free-range organic chicken and roasted it with some local Yellow German potatoes and sauteed up a bunch of local kale to go with it. This is my old standby. It's 100 percent local and I just pop that bird in the oven sprinkled with some salt, pepper and Herbes de Provence (rosemary, thyme and lavender mostly) and go do something fun for two hours (like ride my horse). Voila, a luscious, local meal when I return. And then there is the multiplier affect of roasting a chicken. Suddenly there are bones for stock and leftover chicken for etouffe or chicken and wild rice hotdish. (yah, I am from Minnesota, ya know). I get wild rice from Native Harvest run by Winona LaDuke on the White Earth Indian Reservation in Minnesota. I figure this is better than local, since they use renewable energy to run their business, use the proceeds to buy back their land and take care of their elders, among other small feats of generosity and goodness. So, this little kickstart with the chicken got me to thinking about my little problem with breakfast...and guess what?! I made yogurt! It was so fun. And easy. There was a little serendipity too...a local dairy just came online with pasteurized milk, and I was able to buy it just in time to try yogurt last weekend. And then tonight I made the most delicious black bean soup from beans I got through Athens Locally Grown (athenslocallygrown.net). All the food I get locally at this point (except for the odd radish from my wee patch in the backyard) comes from this online cooperative. They rock. I can't say enough about them. This week I got porridge from Mills Farm, and I'm going to make some good old fashioned granola to have with my homemade yogurt and frozen blueberries. Who says you can't eat local in December?