Announcing the 2008 One Local Summer!

Liz sends her regrets - she will no longer be hosting One Local Summer, and has passed the reins on to me!

One Local Summer will be hosted this year at Farm to Philly, a group blog that not only talks about all things localvore in the Philadelphia region but also shares recipes, gardening tales, and national and international news bits that impact us all. One Local Summer will begin this year on Sunday, June 1 and will run until Sunday, August 31.

The rules will remain the same: create at least one meal each week during the challenge that's made entirely of locally grown ingredients (the acceptable exceptions: salt and pepper, oil, spices). Post your meal(s) to your blog (or for those without blogs, you can email in a report about your challenge meal). Posts broken down by region will be posted at Farm to Philly that detail what everyone's doing!

I hope you'll join us for the 2008 One Local Summer challenge! If you've done it before, you know it's a great deal of fun to live vicariously through the person who has access to local clams, discover new vegetables and new ways to use vegetables, and challenge yourself to support local farmers in more meaningful ways. Please sign up for One Local Summer at Farm to Philly or by emailing me.

The deadline for registration is Sunday, May 25.

At this time we are also accepting volunteers to coordinate regional activity. Those regions are: West, New England, International (all countries outside the U.S.), Midwest, South, and Mid-Atlantic. We may end up breaking these regions down into smaller groups if we have a large number of people signed up. Coordinators will be responsible for collecting and collating updates from the participants in their assigned region and posting updates each week to the Farm to Philly site.

Edited to note: I will also be creating a FAQ about One Local Summer for newcomers to the challenge. If you have suggestions on information to include in the FAQ or questions, please leave a comment or email me.

Eating Locally in Winter

Laura at Urban Hennery has proposed a challenge for those of you who would like to continue eating one local meal a week throughout the year. It's called the Dark Days of Winter Eat Local Challenge, and the premise is basically the same as OLS, only in a more challenging season. Check out her site for more details.

In other news, if you are interested in being more involved with One Local Summer next year, please email me at pocketfarm {at} gmail {dot} com. Thanks!

Week 10-The latecomers

Well it's time for the final One Local Summer update from the late comers.

Karl enjoyed a steak dinner with pickled beets among other things.

Kristin had spaghetti bolognese, and she has some thoughts on eating items not from your foodshed, and how intense it can be when it's a special occurrence.

Carmen had pesto pizza! Yum-O!!

Thank you all for participating!

Week 10 ~ International & New England

Amanda in Scotland showed that you could even be homeless (well, more like in-between flats) and still enjoy local foods. Luckily, she has access to a good farmers market and was able to stock up on provisions.

Karen in Ontario enjoyed some meatloaf this week. About her OLS experience she said, "Overall, it really makes me think about where food comes from and how it's made. I will definitely be continuing with this in many different ways!"

Moonwaves in Ireland enjoyed roast chicken, homegrown peas, and green tomato and lemon chutney before heading off to Germany for an experience she'll never forget with WWOOF.

Wendy in Maine made an eggplant parmigiana type dish that even her non-eggplant loving husband enjoyed. She added, "I think I've gotten closer to finding that balance between eating local and my food budget."

Leslie in Martha's Vineyard enjoyed grass-fed beef from a local farm, along with veggies from her garden.

Frances in Western Massachusetts started the day with a simple omelette and cantelope melon, and ended with grilled veggie and goat cheese sandwiches.

First, Korinthe in Massachusetts stuffed a runaway zuke, then used my favorite tortilla recipe and became her own tortilleria.

Laurie in Massachusetts also went for two meals this week: fried clams (dug by her husband), and that famous New England delicacy: lobster.

And James and I enjoyed a simple garden frittata along with scarlet runner beans and a glass of homemade (and homegrown) strawberry wine.

Thanks so much to everyone who participated in One Local Summer for these past ten weeks. It's always satisfying to see a tiny seed of an idea grow into something mighty. Your efforts are truly inspirational.

Don't forget that the Eat Local Challenge takes place during the entire month of September this year, and the emphasis is on putting up the harvest so you can enjoy those local foods year-round!

OLS West Week 10

The last week of one local summer. It's been a lot of fun seeing what everyone has been making.

At Chez Gnome, I decided to try something new, Salad Nicoise. The only thing not local was the tuna. Of course, as been the case with most meals, we dug into it before we could get a good photo.

Homesteaders in Training made gnocchi AND red Wagon lettuce, homemade buttermilk dressing with fresh chives that traveled from Maine to Colorado and buttermilk marinated Colorado chicken. Yum!

Sarah at Sarah's homesteading blog made Hearty Summer Vegetable Stew & Drop Biscuits. What a great idea for extra produce when the nights are getting cooler.

Turtle had a yummy salad with tomatoes, red carrots, and baby gem lettuce. Lets hear it for a great salad.

Laura from Urban Hennery had halibut fillet on the grill with steamed green beans and toasted bread. And she says it so well in her post:

"This is it, our last One Local Summer Challenge meal. It’s become such a part of our lives, spreading so that pretty much every meal we cook this summer is 75% or more local. Hard to imagine that we won’t “have” to report on it every week any more. It’s been a wonderful trip, an exploration of our local food shed that I don’t think we would have made so thoroughly so soon without the one local summer challenge."

Thanks everyone!

Midwest, Week Ten

Sweet potato flower (who knew?)

With this, the last week of August, our One Local Summer experiment has ended!

I hope you all had FUN with this challenge. I certainly learned a lot from all of you. This exercise may have been frustrating at times, and if anything it has proved to us that, like it or not, we have really become separated from the food-growing process. (I mean, my grandparents did not need to go 80 miles from their homes to find dairy and flour, as I have done!) With any hope, you've all done some thinking, and more than likely, you have inspired other people to consider their food miles. And let's not forget the food itself! YUM!

I recycled the meal I made for the last meal for One Local Summer last year. Very univentive, I know, but it was so good, I had looked forward to making it again this year...just needed some beans to ripen.

Matt in Iowa made two local dinners this week. He made his first pesto! And his mom promises to teach him how to make noodles for the next time he makes it. How great is that.

Lucette in Cleveland made a meal with simplicity and ease, she said. Listen to this: "vegetables chopped and sauteed to a sputter...." (I will certainly miss these tomato/cucumber daily salads in three months, won't all of you?)

Farm mom Ang in Michigan posts a lot of firsts in this week's meal. This challenge was really hard for her at first (she is surrounded by farms but nothing to eat), but with some effort, they've done it. And she says if she can, anyone can! Go see her Eggplant Parmigiana.

Emergency surgery and prolonged recovery has taken its toll on Frugalmom in Illinois. She hasn't posted to the challenge as much as she would have liked. That said, she reminds us that eating local need not be a complicated affair: a BLT or some home fries is a simple start.

Evie in South Dakota grabbed her last meal on the run: literally! She did not one but two marathons this week. (Whew.) Speaking of influencing people, she thinks this challenge has helped her daughters the most, and will be something they remember through their lives.

Kelly in Ohio will be continuing the challenge on her blog. She feels that she hasn't made nearly all the recipes she wanted to try, so she needs a few more weeks! Now, that is inspiring. This final meal looked delicious and not too difficult, which is also inspiring.

I will say that Linda in Missouri has had some of the more interesting meals of the challenge: she really goes all-out! She put an Asian spin on this last one, using her own lemongrass and tag-sale dishes. Those cabbage rolls sure looked great!

Ohioans E4 and Lori made a huge haul at the farmer's market this week, but life's complications got in the way of a 100% local meal. (I think 90%, or even 50%, qualifies if your heart is in it!) But both their barbecue and its charcoal were local...

I realize that today is a holiday and that many of us are caught up in the frenetic pace that is Back To School season. If you're still planning on posting a meal, please do so: I will try to catch you all up on the One Local Summer site. I'm missing many of my usual Midwesterners this week, so I hope you can still participate!

Thank you, Liz, for dreaming up this challenge!

The South, week 10

How can it already be the end of One Local Summer 2007?! Well, I trust we'll be seeing all of you at the Eat Local Challenge, right?

This week Laurie made this summery, sunny plate of open-faced chicken salad sandwiches (note the Pineapple tomatoes) and bright-orange Charentais melon. The melon could have been sweeter, she says, but it was still good.

Jeff and Joyce dined on macaroni and cheese (yes, with homemade noodles, and locally sourced dairy and eggs) with corn on the cob and squash.

Jen incorporated a co-worker’s homegrown banana peppers into a dish of vegetarian enchiladas.


Eating locally sourced food changes your habits fundamentally, Maggie reflects: “Having one local meal a week has not been a challenge, choosing which meal to post about has.” She wrapped up OLS with this stunning mustard- and herb-crusted rack of lamb with Russian Banana fingerling potatoes, Roma beans, and her neighbor’s homemade kamut rolls.

My local meal this week was an ode to the two vegetables that are surviving best in Georgia right now: tomatoes and peppers. I made panzanella (Italian tomato and bread salad) and served it alongside local organic free-range pork chops.

Stew, ever a girl after my own heart, made ratatouille and ate it for dinner one night and breakfast the next morning. I love a meal that multitasks.

Molly calls her last OLS meal “not very exciting and kind of a repeat”--although I beg to differ. I'd have gladly shown up for hamburgers on homemade buns (the ground beef was from her family's own cows), roasted okra, oven french fries, and arugula salad with tomatoes.

Pattie took me at my word when I suggested we go all out this week. She harvested her garden, went to the farmers’ market, collected her CSA box, and put together a Grand Feast. The main dish was an assortment of multicolored heirloom tomatoes with grass-fed lamb on a bed of organic grits. Genovese basil pesto and lamb’s quarters (this year’s MVP!) were the accompaniment, and a muscadine and scuppernong granita made a spectacular dessert. “I wish I could have taken a picture of how my house smelled last night,” she said.

Finally, Paulette decided to give One Local Summer 2007 a grande finale. All but one of her family’s dinners--and all but one of their breakfasts, too--were local this week! Check out the menu she put together, and note especially the homemade beef breakfast sausage.

Thanks so much, everyone! And especially to Liz for making it all possible.

Mid-Atlantic Week #10

The Mid-Atlantic went out in a flourish this week with great meals and important testimonials to how this wonderful idea of Liz’s has changed their behavior.

Nicole from New Jersey is in Maine this week vacationing with her family. He post this week proves that you CAN dine locally when away from home. Anticipating their family meal of local lobster she reflects …“We are happy locavores this week.”

Naomi from Philadelphia’s made a hearty quiche filled with veggies from her co-op share.

Mac in Philadelphia provided a link to the Farm to Philly website. Please check it out. It is filled with wonderful meals that I may have missed these past weeks.

Mikaela from PA featured a Week #9 Meal brought to us by the letter “S” - scrumptious squashed and stuffed spicy seitan! Then this week she made her own pizza dough and her finale LOOKS scrumptious. She sums it up when she reflects:

“As much as I love to cook, and love local foods, I can truly say that never would've made a pizza from scratch had it not been for the challenge of OLS. Nor would I have considered using corn as a topping. But! These were all good decisions!

Thank you, Liz! You are amazing and inspiring and fun.”

You may recall that Seedling in NJ became a new mom this OLS season. A special congrats to her for posting when she could. Her meal this week was a simple frittata and her reflections on the 10 weeks are worth sharing here.

“More than material for blogging, we've enjoyed getting to know our local foodshed. Though the challenge may end here, we've got the know-how we need to keep eating locally, at least on some level. And the incentive, too, because meals made from mostly local ingredients are by far the tastiest.”

Christy in Delaware made a delicious looking potato-corn chowder and homemade crescent rolls. She reflected on how her habits for buying and for preserving local food have changed as a result of the challenge.

Rabi from NY had a meal of stuffed patty pan squash with roasted tomatoes, okra and potatoes. Hats off to Rabi for some of the finest food photography in the Mid-Atlantic. It has been a real treat!

Steph from PA made another frittata this week only THIS time with sweet peppers. Yum!

Thanks to everyone who participated and shared the bounty of the Mid-Atlantic region. It has been a pleasure to look over your shoulder in your kitchens and in your gardens. Have a great fall. And don't forget that September is this year's Eat Local Challenge month.

September Eat Local Challenge

If you're interested in continuing your experiments and successes in local eating, you may be interested in taking part in the Locavores' third annual Eat Local Challenge, happening in September this year.

What makes this year's challenge different is, that instead of focusing exclusively on local foods for the entire month, you can select the level of participation that feels most comfortable for you.

Check here for a great list of ways to be involved!

Week 9-The Latecomers

This week Carmen enjoyed a simple dinner that allowed her to taste the flavor of each item and enjoy the freshness of eating locally.

Faith's group had to throw something together quickly, and they recycled the picture from an earlier meal. I've had week's like that.

Karl's group enjoyed some spaghetti sauce this week.