Local Food 5/15/2010

Where is Market Week 2, you ask?  I was out of town that weekend and, while we did get a few things from the amazing produce stand near my parents’ home, I neglected to take any pictures.  Close your eyes for a moment and imagine two gorgeous bundles of green and white green onions, a container of salsa flecked with corn kernels, two or three packages of bacon from locally raised pigs, and a bag each full of bright green arugula and multi-coloured salad greens.  Label that “Market Week 2” and voila!  That’s the post I didn’t make. 

I was worried that our CSA would start this week and I was going to have to figure out how to use everything up in the day that I have home before heading north to my brother’s place.  Luckily our CSA starts next week, so I just bought a few things that I was looking for and that I knew I’d be able to use over the weekend.  Since it’s still early in the year many farmers are selling potted plants (which I can’t buy because I’d kill them), herbs (which I need to buy next weekend I’ll be home for a while), and various jams and jellies (which I already have a ton of). 

I did come home with seven bundles of green onions and three green garlics.  The green garlic is hiding under the red leaf lettuce on the left side of the green onions.  Then I got lettuce – the aforementioned red leaf lettuce on the left and romaine lettuce on the right.  Isn’t the romaine such a deep, rich green?  It’s hard to believe it’s the same lettuce as the pale green stuff sold in the grocery store!

And then there was meat.  This is the reason that I’ve changed the name of this section from “CSA and Local Produce” to “CSA and Local Foods.”  For the first time, we’ve got a meat farmer at the market.  Art and I talked with her for a good 45-60 minutes today.  I’m pretty sure we asked her every question there was to ask and she answered all of them.  Depending on the season she’ll have cow, lamb, pig, goat, and chicken.  While we already have a local source for pastured cow, she does have some cuts of cow that we haven’t seen other places.  The other meats I haven’t been able to find anywhere locally, so I’m pretty thrilled to now have a source.  It’s pricier than non-local stuff, but I think it’s a price I’m willing to pay.  (I am not going to rant about the benefits of locally and humanely raised meats because that’s not what my blog is for.  I’m a firm believer in people spending their food budgets as they see fit.  However, I am pretty excited about this new opportunity and looking forward to taking advantage of it!  I hope to be able to share that enjoyment with you.)   

The farmer is considering starting a meat CSA and, if that happens, it’s safe to say that we’ll join it because we always enjoy exposure to things we wouldn’t otherwise think to try.  In the meantime we’ll buy parts we’re interested in trying or already know that we love. 

This week, to start out with, we got a package of sweet Italian sausage and a package of bacon – those are at the top of the picture.  On the left side there are three small packages of goat chops.  None of us have ever had goat before, so this is a pretty exciting thing to get to try.  Apparently it’s quite healthy and delicious!  The package in the front is a pound of ground goat meat.  Then, on the right side, there are two small packages of skirt steak.  Skirt steak is one of those cuts that I love but have never been able to buy outside of a restaurant. 

It’s a good thing we bought that larger freezer!

(And, yes, that is my cat trying to figure out what the goat is.)