My Buy Local Saturday

Our local farmer's market is held at the garden center every other Saturday in the winter. This makes for a dangerous combination for me as it feeds my "need for seed". I'm addicted to buying seeds this time of year and can't seem to go without buying more packets, even though I have no more room to plant anything. I need to find some will power! (or maybe buy more containers)

I did manage to leave without seeds, probably because JR was with me and he's already said I'm "obsessed with the garden" (guilty as charged!). I'll wait until next time when I'm there alone heeheehee.

I always feel like I've scored big after I've been to the farmer's market, even in the middle of winter. When I find something unusual it gives me inspiration to think outside of the normal routine and seek out new recipes.

Here's what I found: cabbage, 2 types of mushrooms, 2 shallots thrown in for free, beets and fresh mozzarella cheese.

I'm planning to roast the beets tonight to use during the week. The cabbage will be divided in half to make both a slaw with apples and walnuts and also some cabbage soup. I'm thinking about making Hungarian mushroom soup with 1 type of mushroom and a pizza with the other and some of the mozzarella cheese. 

Lately I've been trying to buy my food locally as much as possible. Luckily I work in a more rural area north of the city and there are several farms on my way home from work. One of my favorite to visit has the cows grazing right next to the farm market. They make the best ice cream and also sell meat from another local farmer. 

I try to stop there every other week to buy milk. This week I also picked up some turkey burgers, strawberry milk, small bottle of cream (to use in the mushroom soup and whipped on top of pudding). The rolls are made in here in Pennsylvania, I got them to go with the turkey burger.

For lunch I cooked 2 turkey burger sliders with some of the shiitake mushrooms. I also added some homemade bread and butter pickles that I canned last summer.

I recently read 2 books about local eating and farming that I loved. If you're interested in this subject you might want to check them out:

The Feast Nearby: How I lost my job, buried a marriage, and found my way by keeping chickens, foraging, preserving, bartering, and eating locally (all on $40 a week), By Robin Mather

If you're going to buy this book I recommend buying a physical copy of the book and not the Kindle edition. There are many great recipes in this book and I find it easier to reference a physical book in the kitchen than an e-reader.

The Dirty Life, By Kristin Kimball

This gave me a lot of insight into what goes into creating a self-sustaining CSA farm. 

Both were very enjoyable winter reads that got me thinking about what I buy and from where, what I want to grow in my garden and making the most of what I grow.