Eat Local Week Stories

Diary of a Newbie Locavore
by Cathryn Dorsey

December 6, 2007
I come from a long line of foodies. My husband and I grew up in families that valued good food and cooking at home, so that has always been important to us. We eat little frozen or processed food and have always enjoyed cooking together and entertaining friends. Although we ate fresh food, we did not think much about where it came from. When we did not have a home garden we would go to the farmers market to buy tomatoes and herbs, but that was about it.

Over the past year, I have read several books that have opened my eyes to the taste and health benefits of eating locally. Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle tells of her family’s year of growing and raising their food and eating locally. Omnivore’s Dilemma told me more than I wanted about mass market beef and poultry production, big agriculture, and the changing meaning of “organic.” To Buy or Not to Buy Organic helped me understand the differences between organic growers, sustainable farmers, and nonorganic farmers, and how to buy good food for family without breaking the bank. And since it came on the scene last spring, Edible Austin has helped me find resources in the Austin area.

So we have begun to incorporate more local produce into our family’s meals, juggling between the farmer’s market, regular and organic grocery stores, and Costco. But I have to admit, we were still eating lots of vegetables and fruit from Mexico and South America. When Marla Camp, publisher of Edible Austin told me about Eat Local Week, I started to think about how to get my family involved. Could the Dorsey family eat completely local for a week, even without a home garden or ranch?

As I pondered this experiment, I paid more attention on my trips to the farmer’s markets. When I saw the choices there, I felt like a week of eating locally might be possible. In addition to broad variety of fresh produce and herbs, I found eggs, chickens, and beef. I have long enjoyed Texas oranges and grapefruit, but for the first time realized apples grew here. Local artisans make granola, pasta, and bread. And Austin has a full complement of local spirits, juice, and soda producers. I decided that we would not worry about condiments and most meals not eaten at home.

This week we have been cleaning the “foreign foods” out of our refrigerator. Last night I went to the Triangle Farmer’s Market and stocked up on local eggs and herbs. I had wanted to get Jake’s Granola, but he was not there. We start our “Week of Eating Locally” with local eggs on Saturday morning and then catch him at the market.

December 10
Saturday, Eat Local Week (ELW) Day One
We had local eggs from the Rigger Family Farm for breakfast. I was struck by how yellow the yolks were and that the white were not as runny as regular eggs. At the Downtown Farmer’s Market we had drank locally roasted coffee and stocked up on produce, eggs, beef, chicken, sausange, and bacon for the week. One the way home, I realized I had forgotten to buy bread and stopped by the Upper Crust Bakery for whole wheat loaf and grabbed spinach and ham and cheese brioche for lunch. For dinner we had a Texas seafood and citrus dinner with the Dai Due Supper Club, a new local-only option that we had been wanting to try. The six course dinner was served outside at a lovely home on the banks of the Colorado River. The meal, music, and conversation were delightful and we resolved to definitely do Dau Due again.

Sunday, ELW Day Two
Breakfast was Jake’s Granola. I realized I forgot to get local fruit and salad stuff at the Famer’s Market on Saturday and went to Wheatsville Coop for Texas grapefruit, tangerines, lettuce and sprouts. While there I also picked up Pure Luck cheeses and parsley pesto. Lunch for me was a local baked sweet potato and radish salad. I found my husband and sons eatting Friday night’s left over pizza from a national franchize! At this point I decided that I do not want to spend the week at the Locovore Enforcer and that I would just try to have as many local food options as possible. For dinner we had my husband’s minestroni, one of our favorite cold weather meals. As we enjoyed our first bites, he admitted that the soup had local kale, carrots, and onions, but the rest of the ingredients were not so local…. It was still delicious.

Monday, ELW Day Three
Breakfast today and for the rest of the week will be local eggs, toast, Round Rock Honey, and/or Jake’s Granola. Upon my son’s request, his sandwich for school would not be limited to local ingredients. But I did throw in some local cheese and sprouts. My lunch was a salad of local produce and local SASS salad dressing. Dinner was Pasta & Co margarita ravioli with Wheatsville Coop’s Parsley Pesto and Peach Creek Farm Italian sausage. Yum.

My Lunch at Guero's
by Susan Hawkins

I went to Guero’s today for lunch, thinking that I had a little time, and I was curious to see what their “Eat Local Week” offering was going to be. I walked in, and on the chalkboard, there it was, Spinach Salad with goat cheese. Now, I have had many spinach salads in my life, and have always kind of liked them, but that’s only because they have been all about the bacon. I ordered this one, to support the cause, and was totally blown away. I ordered the salad dressing on the side so I could control the amount, but I never even touched it. This salad was amazing! When the waiter, Moe, delivered it to me, he smiled and said, “hey, my neighbor makes this cheese”, how cool is that? At any rate, I started in on it and found myself thinking, oh my, this is so great I have to call everyone I know to come here. And then I thought, No, if I do, they will run out of it before I have a chance to come back tonight and have this again! I’m not making this up. It was the best salad I have ever had. The spinach (from Boggy Creek Farm) was perfect, the goat cheese (from Pure Luck) was so flavorful, but not overwhelming, and the mushrooms were almost crispy on the outside and tender inside ... really perfect.
I was so impressed that the lady at the next table ordered one also! Thanks local producers and Guero’s! What a hit! — Susan Sides-Hawkins