Eat Local: Last Day & an Announcement

Today marks the end of Eat Local month and I thought I would share with you what I've learned.

I've learned that...
~ eating locally is awfully easy in San Francisco, as long as you make a few key exceptions (coffee, tea, pasta, spices).
~ eating locally costs a lot -- I think my toll is near $400 for groceries for 2 for the month -- but maybe that's just because I suck at budgeting.
~ it is impossible to keep the exciting posts coming about fresh, local ingredients, even if you are eating them every day.
~ cooking seasonally requires flexibility, spontaneity and constant adaptations. That can be fun if you're feeling crazy, and not so fun if you have a dinner party to plan or a busy job and kiddies to cook for.
~ farmers are generally very nice, friendly and happy to talk about their stuff and how to prepare it.
~ chicken feet are the most disgusting thing on the planet.
~ there are two sides to the eating local issue, with rational arguments both for and against. This shouldn't be a knee jerk reaction.

I failed at some of my aspirations -- to get out of my comfort zone by shopping at Rainbow Grocery or Bi-Rite, to finish the Omnivore's Dilemma, to eat 100% locally every day -- but succeeded at changing the way I shop, cook and eat overall. I'm back on the CSA wagon for good (I share its weekly cornucopia with friends to keep from wasting produce), I am a regular at the farmer's market, I intend to explore other farmer's markets, namely on Fillmore and Alemany, over the next few months, and I learned that Elston Family Farms at the Ferry Plaza grow the best damn tomatoes (and they'll only be there another month!).

Now for the announcement: As of the June issue of Northside San Francisco, I'll be writing a monthly column called Fresh from the Farm. Its focus is on farmers and food producers practicing sustainable agriculture, humane husbandry and/or artisanal food production. Upcoming columns will focus on the Elston's tomatoes and the grass-fed beef from Marin Sun Farms. If you don't live in the Northside, I'll be publishing the columns in full on my blog, too. Suggestions of worthy farming operations are always welcome, just email me or post a comment.

Comments

[Alison]

Congratulations on writing for Northside - I often pick it up and now have even more reason to do so!

[Robyn]

Congrats, Catherine. Are you doing CA farms exclusively?

BTW - get yourself over here to Asia and I'll introduce you to things that will make you think twice about labelling chicken feet 'the most disgusting things on the planet'!
;-)

[teri]

Congratulations on your new gig - I'll look forward to reading your columns (and good for Northside for adding such a feature).

How much do you normally spend on groceries? I definitely find eating locally to be more expensive than shopping at Trader Joe's (although I shop a lot at the Ferry Building and thus pay accordingly), but am curious to know exactly how much your grocery bill went up over the month.

And don't worry about the tomatoes. By the time Elston closes up shop, Eatwell, Dirty Girl, Balakian Farms and Ella Bella should have us rolling in delicious tomatoes!

[Catherine]

Teri, I agree, it's great that a publication like Northside is interested in this kind of content every month. Other than Edible SF, I believe they're the only local pub to devote a column to it every issue.

I don't honestly have a clue how much I normally spend on groceries. I never add it all up. So I can't tell if it's more expensive or not, although I assume so.

[Brett]

Congratulations on the column! Sustainability and local farms are important topics to bring to a wider audience. I'll have to keep my eyes open for that publication when I'm up in your neck of the woods.

I've been enjoying Elston's tomatoes for the last couple of months too, so I'm glad you'll be featuring that farm. Their greenhouse-grown tomatoes are the perfect degree of ripeness for rubbing on toasted bread Catalan style, a treat which in previous years I didn't get to enjoy until late summer.