￭ local foods
On a practical level, of course not everything I buy is local... I don’t go without vegetables all winter just because I can’t buy them locally and/or I didn’t preserve them in the summer.
PhOtO BY KIRA BARON << CONtINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
we searched out was the farmers’ market. More peppers than I had ever seen, eggplants, tomatoes, amazing summer squash….the list goes on. We planted a few tomatoes behind our rented duplex, until we eventually bought a house and claimed a corner of the backyard for a garden. We have a chest freezer that we fill with berries and vegetables, and a pantry with plenty of room for canned tomatoes, peaches, jam, pickled asparagus…. whatever we have time for each summer. We have two kids now (Casey, 2, and Cassidy, almost 6) and they traipse around with us to the farmers’ market each weekend in the summer, to the blueberry field to pick berries, to the farm to get eggs (and see the chickens, of course). They dig in the dirt and help poke seeds into the
ground in the spring, and in exchange they get to savor cherry tomatoes still warm from the sun in August. I like to think they’re learning to experience their food, not just eat it. On a practical level, of course not everything I buy is local. Until someone figures out how to grow coffee, chocolate, and bananas here, they’re going to come from other countries. I don’t go without vegetables all winter just because I can’t buy them locally and/or I didn’t preserve them in the summer. Sometimes, when no one seems to have fresh eggs, I’m busy learning how to make pancakes without eggs. Other times, I buy them at the store because it’s Christmas and I have cookies to bake. I have to explain to my kids why I’m not
buying those peaches in the grocery store in January (but when we get those first juicy peaches in July, it’s like a gift). Most of our produce in the summer comes from the farmers’ market or from our garden, and when I buy other products I try to choose things that are local, or at least regional. There are a lot of reasons I think it’s a good idea to eat as locally as possible, as much as possible – supporting our local economy, reducing the amount of fuel used to get my food to me, knowing just where my food was grown. But the biggest thing to me is the taste. Local foods just taste better. I love food, and I love to eat, and I want my food to be as delicious as possible. I hope to pass this on to my kids. ￭
The Valley’s best seafood and specialty foods!
Celebrating 38 Years
Deli Made
• Smoked Salmon Cheesecake • Ceviche • Hummus • Caesar Salad Dressing 8
Local Products
• Tieton Farm & Creamery • Pretzels • Pacific Trader’s Coffee • Tillen Farms • Fresh Pasta MAY | JUNE 2011 • YAKIMABUSYBEE.COM