You've heard the saving, "Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder?" The general premise is when you go without something your desire for it increases. This could be a person, a vacation spot, a special dessert your grandma makes; the list is endless. If you have a favorite thing or are particularly fond of something or someone, availability is an important thing. You want to have that "thing" whenever you want it or be with that person as much as you can. ...[continued]
I remember when I shipped out for Dessert Storm, Beth was only six weeks old. She managed to smile at me before I left. But being away from her and Jill was difficult because this was our first child and she was new and beautiful and I wanted to see everything she did. I'm sure I wouldn't have taken her for granted if I'd never left, but boy was I excited to return and see her and hold her.
One of the guidelines we adopted in our eating local is we only eat what's in season. If you truly eat locally, there aren't many places (because of the climate) that have everything available year round. This is mainly because of the season and every plant can't grow in every season. In North Carolina for example, our seasons are distinct enough that we can only grow vegetables and fruit during one or sometimes two seasons.
The best defense or response to our regional limitations is to plan ahead. The simplest practice of this is to freeze and can/preserve fruits and vegetables when they are in season. For example, May is strawberry season in central NC. If you want fresh strawberries, you better get them in May or maybe early June. If you want blueberries, you have to wait until July and early August. If you want a pumpkin, you aren't going to find any locally in June, you have to wait until September and beyond. You get the idea. If you are eating locally, then you will be limited in availability of just about all fruits and vegetables and even meat to some extent. Therefore you have to store up fruits and vegetables when they are in season.
This does require effort, but canning and freezing aren't so difficult that you can't teach yourself (I did). When it comes to preserving the harvest, I would refer you to two references; 1) Ball's Blue Book guide to preserving ($5.49) and 2) The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest: 150 Recipes for Freezing, Canning, Drying and Pickling Fruits and Vegetables (Paperback) ($12.89). These books cover pretty much all you need to know for canning and freezing (and there's more to freezing than just placing something in a "Ziplock" - at least if you want it to taste good. But even if you don't buy these books, there are plenty of resources online.
Additionally, you have to think about what you are going to need and what won't be available later in the year and then can and freeze accordingly. Recently I found a soup recipe that sounded wonderful, but I didn't have the fresh ingredients to make it. Honestly, this past summer, I wasn't thinking about soup. My lesson learned from this is to make the soup next summer and can the soup when the ingredients are fresh. Then I can enjoy the soup later in the year.
Again, this isn't an all or nothing venture or at least it doesn't have to be for you. We have chosen to be fairly strict on this topic, mainly at my insistence. Think about what your grandparents or even your great grandparents had available to them year round? There wasn't such a thing as a grocery store. If you wanted something your grew it.
I love tomatoes. Tomatoes are just AWESOME. They are so versatile and can be used to make so many things. But nothing says fresh like the first tomato of the season on white bread with mayo, salt and pepper. Now if I had a tomato sandwich anytime I wanted one, like right now in December, then do you think that "first" one next summer would be nearly as delicious? Not even close. It would be a normal, ordinary, nothing special sandwich. BUT, if next July, after nine months or so of not having a fresh tomato, when they first tomato is ready to pick from the vine, do you think it will taste good? It will be GREAT! Now, don't get me wrong. I grow lots of tomatoes and I preserve them a number of ways. So we have canned tomatoes year round - just not fresh, whole tomatoes.
I can't tell you when I've had citrus last (six months at least). Would I love a navel orange right now? You bet. I know the kids would or maybe even more desirous would be a banana. We'll I haven't said anything to Santa about eating locally, so my bet is we'll each have a orange or two and maybe even a banana or two in our stocking on Christmas morning. Anyone want to guess what the most popular item will be in our household that morning? Not toys, not clothes, not a Play Station 3, not a new Blue-Ray DVD player, not even the new baby goat, no; it'll be a banana!
The reason this concept seems so foreign to us is because most of us grew up in a time when grocery stores were readily available. Grocery stores have been so successful because they offer convenience, inexpensive products and because any item is available year round. Americans want what they want, when they want it. Grocers have responded by giving us everything year round. Most people today don't even realize that fruits and vegetables have a season. The question I always ask is, what did they do to that [insert the name of a vegetable] that was grown in Peru in order to keep it from going bad during the 3000 mile trip since it was picked two months ago? They pick it early before it is ripe and then spray it with chemicals in order to ripen in just in time for the produce section, but right before you buy it and take it home, only to watch it spoil in a matter of days after purchase.
So, give it a try. Start by picking one or two items that you would normally buy from the grocery store year round and for the next year only eat and cook with them when they are in season. Grandma did it and we certainly aren't any better than she was. Are you already doing this? If so, share with me what you are doing.
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