If we are what we eat, then I'm an apple from Chile: personal project intro

When I filled out my food details on the Ecological Footprint assessment, a big semitruck pulled up to the grocery store in the graphic. Cringe.

I don't know why I shop at Kroger and Wal-Mart when there is a wonderful Farmer's Market in Bloomington (and a good handful of local grocers to boot). I guess it's the cheaper prices, along with the ease of knowing exactly what will be at the store and exactly where it will be in the store. You don't have to figure out anything new or think too much. Business as usual. In and out.

But this semester I'm going to change that. For my personal project, I'm making a concerted effort to eat local, and explore the local grocers as well (with the caveat that I'm a graduate student on a budget). This means that if I want vegetables in the winter I should start stocking up now, so part of this project will be blanching and freezing local produce that is abundant now, and hopefully learning how to can.

I also plan to do some reading about the effects of local food. So far I've got some books lined up: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle; The Omnivore's Dilemma; and The Locavore's Dilemma. Any other recommendations?

So, stay tuned for updates about my local food forays and preserving efforts, cost comparisons between local victuals and "imported" food, and any other local food musings I have. I know that some (most?) of you are way ahead of me in this area, so please please please share your insights, recommendations, and best practices (especially about local providers of things other than produce). I'm excited about my impact on the local economy, the preserving skills I hope to pick up (which will be especially useful next year when I'll have my own garden!), and the opportunity to learn more about the Bloomington food community.

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Speaking of local food forays...

...Last Saturday I went to the Bloomington Farmers' Market for the first time ever. How did I waste a whole year here without ever going before? It was O-M-G amazing. I didn't even make it past the vegetable stalls before I had to leave because I couldn't fit any more into my bike panniers. (I'm 95% vegetarian, and I really love vegetables. And aren't those flowers gorgeous?)

My parents came to town, so I had help eating a lot of that. Plus, I blanched and froze all those yellow zucchini. I'm a little worried about freezer burn, but rest assured I'll eat them anyway. I DO NOT throw things away!

Also...all those onions? They're getting chopped and frozen too. I'm thinking maybe this weekend I'll move on to eggplant...