May 24, 2012 New Having fun with local ingredients
Restaurants are out touting locally procured ingredients. Why not do the same at home. Cheese made at Corrado’s Market in Wayne, NJ + arugula, spinach, basil, and broccoli from my garden + lettuce from Abma’s in Wyckoff, NJ + local wine = great dinner!
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May 24, 2012 Flowers from far off lands
Another way to buy local is to grow your own or visit a local farm market or shop specializing in local flowers.
These are wonderful irises that have been in my family for years. Special thanks to my aunt and uncle for sharing them. They now live in my yard too!
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May 11, 2012 Local energy?
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May 8, 2012 Not from Stop & Shop
Or any other super market. If you can’t grow your own, find a local farmer who does. 
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May 2, 2012 Impact
Ever catch yourself scanning a barcode somewhere and jumping on amazon.com or some other site to see how much you can get the item for?
I did the other day and it made me think. How much time do I “invest”, even with the help of tech, to save a few bucks? What kind of impact does my purchase have on my local community? Where does my money go?
So, I put down my iPhone, reached into my pocket and plunked down a few bucks for the bike parts I needed. Purchase made 2 blocks from home from a guy who lives near my community. He in turn uses local services, hires local people, and runs a store that helps fend off the invasion of chain concepts that has ruined half my town.
Now that is an impact full purchase. Now if I could just get bike parts made locally…
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May 1, 2012 As local as local gets
French breakfast radishes for our salad. Trip distance – about 30 yards.
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April 27, 2012 Decisions
Which shall it be tonight. Grow some yourself and you’ll face such tough, but local dilemmas!
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April 19, 2012 What’s a foodshed?
I am not a fan of putting a precise definition on the term Foodshed .
My take on it is easy. Think about the food grown or produced within about 100 miles of your home. Now consider everything that happens to it from “the cradle to your mouth”. That’s your Foodshed. Simple!
For example, tonight I had asparagus. They were grown in South NJ, shipped to a local market near me and sold by a local merchant. Those asparagus are part of my Foodshed. The money I spent to buy them stays close to home and goes to work supporting the merchant, the grower, and the people who work for them. Those folks spend that same money right here (hopefully) in my local area. Plus, the carbon footprint of these great, green spears is vastly reduced since many asparagus we buy in supermarkets are from Peru.
It’s easy to see why knowing your Foodshed is important. Check out foodshed alliance for more information and be sure to Google the term to learn more about your local Foodshed.
Remember, think global, act and spend local. It makes a difference.
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Tags: alliance, farmer, food, Foodshed, grower, local, Locavore, NJ, NY
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April 12, 2012 Easy ways to eat local on the cheap
Eating local doesn’t mean you have to always eat out. It’s more important to get in the habit of buying your ingredients from local sources. Then just whip up simple meals at home made with great ingredients. That’s the key to success for many great chefs and food cultures (think Italy, France, etc.).
In NJ and NY we have no shortage of fresh, local ingredients this time of year. Greens from local farms, meats from local producers, and even kitchen equipment made locally!
Finally, many foods retain more nutrients when sourced locally and eaten within minutes or even a day or so from harvest. Many supermarket foods have made long trips from across the country or world by the time you buy them. No, they were not picked at their peak! Think about those Chilean blueberries you bought and how much petrol they burned to get them to you…
Check the links section of this blog for local resources.
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Tags: eat, farm, farm market, food, local, Locavore, produce, spring
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April 10, 2012 Local Greens Alert
After a dark, yet not so cold winter we are now seeing green shoots. For real!
Local asparagus are just starting to come to harvest and will continue for the next 2 months. Also be on the lookout for some delicacies like fiddlehead ferns and ramps. Be sure to get those from a reputable source.
On the more common, but still great side we have: cabbage, kale, Swiss chard, spinach, some lettuces, and radishes (soon). Oh yes, peas are just weeks away too.
Buy what you need when you need it so things stay fresh. For a listing of some good local farms or local produce retailers see the njnylocavore links pages.
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Tags: asparagus, farm, food, greens, local, Locavore, vegetable
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