Berry time!
July 10th, 2007 by Mollie
One of the changes I have made lately is eating in-season local food. It is kind of bizarre, funny, ironic, and telling that it is soooooo difficult to find year round, in-season, local, organic food. This used to be the norm. People used to just eat year round in-season organic food and it didn’t have to be labeled as such.
However, with those struggles behind me for a couple of months, I get to enjoy the bounty of summer and fall. It is a wonderful and easy time to find local, in-season food. If you are looking for a fun outing to go on with friends or family I would highly recommend finding an organic (or one that is sustainable and chemical free) farm that lets you go and pick your own food. It really is just a great way to spend a day. Talking with the farmers, being outside, harvesting food, and enjoying great company (or solitude–sometimes a person just needs quiet, outdoor time). You can make this a regular thing or a one-time-berry-picking-adventure. Either way is great.
This weekend Kendall and I are planning on a berry-picking-adventure. Since our decision to eat local year round, I have been saving jars to do some? jam making. There is really no point in going out and buying a bunch of expensive jars for things that are you going to use fairly quickly. Save the jam, pickle, olive, salsa, and whatever else kind of jars of food you buy, and refill them with you own homemade goodness (this is a kill-two-birds-with-one-stone kind of thing since we are also trying to reduce our trash).
I will post some delicious berry recipes for you all to enjoy. To find a farm near you go to local harvest or do some google-ing.? If you feel up for a little work call ahead to see if they could use any volunteers for the day you are planning on being on the farm (it will be more helpful for them if they know you are coming because they will be able to plan their day accordingly).