Tuesday, September 13, 2011

The Challenge: Recap

So the eat local challenge we were participating in was for the month of August. Now that we're peering into mid-September, it's probably appropriate to give an update on how we did.

Even if that's a little embarrassing.

It wasn't horrible. We did make an effort to source our food regularly throughout the month and we set aside at least one day each week on which we made a point to eat ONLY things that were truly local. We even posted a couple of those. But on a lot of other days of the week, the challenge got away from us. Convenience can be a tempting mistress, especially when you've quadruple booked your life at every interval. I'm ashamed to say, we even ate fast food once.

But, on the plus side, we learned a lot. Especially on those days that we sourced every ingredient we touched, we were able to see just how many great things are available just beyond our backyard (where there are also a few wonderful things). And while the flour we bought to make pasta that first Sunday isn't necessarily one I would use again for that specific dish, I'm already starting to contemplate what else it may be good for. Additionally, the quality of the flour made a clear difference in working with the pasta dough, which is something we've decided to keep in mind for the next time that we buy any all purpose flour at all.

When all is said and done, we do believe in the broad ideas of living locally. We have no intention of becoming fanatical about it because, to us, that seems almost as unnatural as the global food chain that we exist in now. But over the month of August we reiterated to ourselves what it means to be thoughtful about our food choices.

A little thought and a dose of intention can go a long way.

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