Eating like a local

North Florida, 1843 

When she took a break, some oranges from the trees in the front
yielded two tin mugs of juice, one set aside for Washburn with a rag
over it to keep the flies out. She drank hers down while sitting on the
front veranda, feeling the sweetness explode into every pore. It wasn’t a
bad piece of land, she thought as she looked around. The oaks kept the
yard shaded, and the house was laid out to take advantage of the light
and the breezes off the creek. There were figs and alligator pears and a
grapevine, and she recognized some of the crops growing in the field—
corn and squashes and new greens behind a fence where beans climbed.

--Smuggler's Bride 

I signed up on May 1 for the "Eat Local Challenge" from Hogtown Homegrown, a month long event where you try to build your locavore cred. Each day you have to eat some locally grown foods (like putting fresh local blueberries on your oatmeal) and only eat at locally owned, independent restaurants that incorporate fresh, local ingredients into the menu.

I'm already off to a good start, because my meals at home always incorporate some local produce or products. Each morning I start with Tree City coffee, for lunch I have fresh free-range eggs from the farmers market and kombucha (a fermented probiotic drink) from Micanopy Maiden, along with a slice of bread from a local bakery, usually Mosswood.  Supper always has some produce from the farmers market or Ward's, a family-owned market that buys from area farmers. During the day I snack on pecans and fresh berries.

The only difficult part will be if I dine out, but some of my favorite eateries are Mildred's, The Jones, and Sweet Dreams Ice Cream, all locally owned and using local ingredients.

The hard part will be if I'm out of town for a few days, but as long as I take some shelled pecans and fresh berries for the road, I should be in good shape.

So here's to good eating, North Florida style. As I've often said, "Life's too short to eat bad food."

Smuggler's Bride at Amazon