Real Food Wednesday: Local Resources

Well, as I hinted at Monday, I have a treasure trove of resources for you, today!

I always love getting the free copy of Edible magazine when I go to the Farmer's Market. This magazine is distributed regionally, all throughout the U.S. Inside is a wealth of resources for eating whole foods, guides to farmer's markets, and custom sourcing for restaurants, food programs, and other Real Food events in your area. They have even compiled a cookbook, that I don't yet have, but I'm jonesin' for it in the worst way!

If you are in the DFW area, there is a cafe that I am so excited about! Potager in Arlington is owned and operated by people who are passionate about real & local food, and their tagline is Think Globally, Eat Locally...love it! They get all of their food from local sources, including Gnismer Farms on Bowen Rd., CSA's, & pastured beef, chicken and egg sources. Not only that, but they are actually delegates for this year's Slow Food International Terra Madre conference in Italy. That's a HUGE honor! If you haven't, yet, please go eat at Potager, located at 315 W. Mesquite Street, Arlington, TX 76010. It's really important that we vote with our food dollars and support establishments that are going the extra mile to support farmers, provide real nourishment, and are active in the Real Food community!

If you are looking for a restaurant closer to Dallas, you will find that you have a few more choices. Restaurants like Bolsa, Parigi, and Smoke are committed to local, quality ingredients, and any check paid, at these restaurants, is money into the local food economy that will NOT be wasted on Big Food. Want dessert? Think it can't really get into the local food game? Not if you go to Dude, Sweet in the Bishop Arts District! I LOVE that this list is growing:)

Something fun to do on the weekend is to take the family to the farmers market. We have frequented the Dallas Farmers Market on several occasions, but we are looking forward to checking out several more. There are several local farmers markets in great towns like Historic Downtown McKinney, Keller, Coppell, and one in Fort Worth on Beach Street. There are so many options in the metroplex, that it's hard NOT to shop local! Not only that, but seasonal food, picked ripe...the sensory experience is absolute heaven!

If you are looking for a farm or CSA (community supported agriculture) program near you, the best resource on the web is LocalHarvest.org. However, you can go straight to a few sources at Eden Creek Farm, Your Health Source Co-op, or Eden's Organic Garden Center.

If you have been reading for a while, you know that I have been lamenting the sparse nature of local food resources in this part of the country. Well, this weekend I was greatly encouraged! The flames of this fire are being fanned, and I can't wait to help! I count it an honor to be a part of this movement toward the reclamation of our food, in this country. There is much more to come...but, until then I will entice you with a snapshot of just a little of our beautiful bounty from this past weekend...


Salsa, anyone?

Real Foodie Mishaps & A Fuzzy Ball of Madness

Well, I know I said I would be back yesterday, but when we got home from our weekend in Lubbock, I was working on about 2 hours of sleep (followed by a good stretch of head bobbing, neck snapping, half snoozing in the car on the way home), and I frankly, had to go to sleep. So, I beg your pardon for the bogart.

As for today, I am going to bring attention to a little problem that I'm having. With joblessness & homelessness being our set of circumstances at the moment, we are having a hard time figuring out how to incorporate Real Food into...well, poverty. Having a farm or backyard homestead might help with this problem...but, alas...have you checked the stats on buying land or a house with no job? Sooooo, some creative solutions are in order...(as well as a serious attitude adjustment for me.) {Cue: I might be registering for school tomorrow!!! What!? I'll elaborate when I know more:)}

I am so ready to get started on our new lifestyle, and I have this "the way it should be" problem...which, if you were reading during the time we were on our trip, you should recall this problem, readily. I am struggling with visions of colorful, seasonal bounty dancing in my head, so food is becoming a real struggle.

The Scene: I bought 3 peaches from the grocery store, today. (I know, what was I thinking?) But, it's peach season, and I'm desperate, because I'm yearning for them, and the farmer's market is several days away. Besides, I'm one of those annoying foodie people that smells each piece of produce before I select it...and these peaches smelled gooood....very peachy. Well, I got it home, washed it, sat down to eat it, and it was tough, sour, and just plain AWFUL! Remember the Veruca Salt fit I pitched the other day?...well, Take Two. I LOATHE bad produce. Strangely, a few years ago, I would have just eaten it, wondering where along the road of my life peaches had lost their charm. Well, I now know that the charm has literally been stolen, and a bad produce experience is beginning to get equal billing alongside getting my purse snatched.

{don't be fooled by it's fuzzy cuteness. it's an imposter. an imposter, i say!}

Well, I guess that teaches me...I suppose I will just have to make friends with a local farmer this weekend at the Farmer's Market, and buy all I can carry. Maybe that way, I'll be contributing to my local food economy, contributing to a small farmers' ability to still be one next year...and I'll finally be able to have my peach...and eat it, too.