Fresh from the Farm

The majority of my food now a'days has centered around the incredible produce I receive from volunteering at Spring Creek Farm.  Along with an overflowing fridge of some of my favorite veggies, I've noticed a really interesting change in the way I think about meal preparation.

 Local Gazpacho

I believe that when one begins taking an interest in cooking, one (and I'm really talking about me here) may be seduced by foreign ingredients and complicated recipes.  I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing.  In fact, I think the allure of exotic flavors is a wonderful way to learn about foreign ingredients, their histories, and the way they are used in current cooking trends.  Not only is one's palate able to experience a whole new world of flavors, but one may learn a bit about the cultures from which the ingredients and recipes hail.  After experimenting with many kinds of cooking styles and flavor combinations, one usually ends up becoming a pretty decent cook too.

 

A rainbow of a garden salad made with local ingredients!

Having said this, I'm really enjoying my recent shift toward utilizing local ingredients.  The local food movement is an idea I've been interested in for a long time.  It's an interesting challenge.  Rather than thinking, "Okay, I want to make this recipe, so I'm going to run to the store and buy this-and-this-and-this," my musing now falls along the lines of  "Here are the ingredients I have available to me right now, how can I combine them to make something delicious?"  It has been an entirely new outlet in which to be creative.  Finally, I have an incredible sense of pride in knowing that I helped grow the food that I'm eating, or -in the case of the food I buy at our local farmers' market- that I'm supporting the livelihoods of local growers.

Comments

[Dianne]

I think when we first learn to cook, we're kind of tied to recipes because we don't know what we're doing yet! Then with experience, the simplicity of just "throwing things together" begins to come with ease. That's my experience, and I love being able to cook with what I have now! Those veggies look amazing!

[Bianca- Vegan Crunk]

Mmm...that gazpacho looks amazing! I've been out of town for the past two weekends and I've missed our local farmers market. I can't wait to get there Saturday and pick up some fresh tomatoes. Local produce really does taste better.

[Tracingterroir.wordpress.com]

I couldnt have said it better myself!
My next class in school (Holistic Nutrition) is on Food Cultures throughout history. Way cool, but still getting to be creative with local foods is amazing!
Yay! Love the blog.