Farmer's Markets are fine, but what do you do in the winter?
As far as fresh produce is coincerned, I buy extra and freeze, can or dry it. Some things are very keep-able, apples, potatoes, squash, onions. I moved a grape tomato plant into my house last fall and it is still producing.
Yesterday was a blustery day, when the Man of the house came in for lunch, I wanted something filling and hearty so he could face an afternoon in the cold outdoors.
Earlier in the week, when I baked bread, I used left over dough and made pepperoni-cheese crescent rolls. Organic pepperoni of course.
Going through the freezer I saw that I had not used much of the corn so I pulled out several bags of that, some peppers and a package of bacon.
I fried some bacon, added onion and a little garlic, then the chopped peppers, some sweet, a few hot. Off the shelf I took some dried tomatoes and celery and added them. A few cut up potatoes sounded like a good addition. Then I added the frozen corn, some of the moisture helped the potatoes soften quickly.
I had ordered a case of Organic Valley whipping cream for Christmas, and had some left over so I added that to the mix.
For seasoning, salt, pepper, allspice and a bay leaf. My bay tree is doing well, but still small, so i don't harvest too frequently.
Because we like a thick soup, I put a few cups in my trusty vita-mix and added it back to the mixture. While this was cooking, I made hamburgers.
So within an hour I had a passable meal for us. Most of the work was done during the warm summer-early fall days, by me or the farm market people.
Pepperoni-Cheese Crescent Rolls
Corn Chowder
Hamburgers
Pickled Beets
Only the pepperoni and spices were from far away.
The potatoes were a donation from a theatre patron.
The cheese and cream were Organic Valley, which supports my local farmers, the flour for the rolls was a car drive away in to MN. (Swany White). Eggs, flax, bacon, hamburger, corn, etc. were from right here or nearby. Even the catsup and mustard were home-made. A humble meal with quality ingredients is a meal fit for kings.
One cautionary note; corn isn't what it used to be, I buy corn only that is grown by someone who has no GM corn on his place. I have learned that growing certain types of corn and planting them so their maturity time is different from other corn will keep it as GM free as possible.
Let your providers from farmer markets or the the supermarket know you want GM free food.
Foods from the pantry, freezer, home canned or dried make an easy, locally provided meal.