Farmer's Market Feast

Good afternoon locavores! How are all of you enjoying this AMAZING spring weather?? I know I am soaking up this southern sun and absolutely loving it! My apologies for the incredibly long time I have been absent from the blogging world but these past two weeks have been crazy! So much has happened in the world of Locavorism here in Elon, North Carolina, so let me fill you in!

As I am sure all of you have noticed, spring has finally arrived! Us North Carolinians have really been enjoying the perfect weather with temperatures in the 70's and 80's. The flowers are blooming at the leaves are turning a beautiful vibrant green and I know I definitely have caught spring fever! Now is the perfect time to plant our vegetables and herbs in the Elon Community Garden. Over the course of the last two weeks, my partner and I have planted multiple varieties of carrots and lettuce, arugula, radishes, swiss chard, thyme, oregano, basil, and potatoes. Not all of what we planted will be ready to harvest in time for our Locavore feast, such as the potatoes, but they will be available for anyone else over the summer. In a few weeks our homegrown salad will be ready for preparation! I can't wait to reap the benefits of all our hard work!

The following is our potential menu for our Locavore feast at the end of the semester:

-deviled eggs and/or egg salad (with local bread?)

-cheese and fruit platter (with locally made crackers?)

-fruit salad

-traditional sald

-chicken skewers

If all goes as planned, all of the ingredients for our feast will local, right down to the mayonnaise and the salad dressing. Anything we don't grow ourselves will be picked from local famrs, or purchased ready-made from farmers markets or local general stores. It will be a feast suited for royalty and everything will be locally produced!

Along with preparing our local foods to feed the class, my partner and I are also trying to eat locally ourselves as much as possible over the course of the semester. A big part of our locavore diet is farmers markets foods and as of April 1st, the local farmer's markets have officially opened! Within just 5 minutes of Elon University are 2 farmer's markets that sell fresh local produce, meat, eggs, and prepared foods. Last week, I went to the farmer's market in Bulington, NC. This farmers market has both locally grown and imported foods. I stuck to the local stuff and got some fresh North Carolina strawberries. They were fantastic!! This past Thursday, I went to the Elon Community Church Farmer's Market, where farmers from around the county come and set up booths and sell locals eggs, meat, dairy products produce, and homemade products such as soaps, oils, and jams. Here are some photos!

I purchased a dozen farm fresh eggs, some apple butter, and chocolate chip cookies baked in a solar oven! This tiny little farmer's market really had some hidden treasures, and I have really been enjoying home cooked eggs for breakfast the past week! The amazing fresh fruit and eggs on top of my healthy regular diet of Local Yogurt has made being a locavore fun and so tasty. And it really hasn't been very hard! I can't wait until next Thursday so I can go back and get more eggs and fruit. YUM! Check back later this week to see how our veggies and herbs are doing in the garden and see what other local gems I can find. Later Locavores!

The New England Dilemma

Hey Locavores!

To all of you who have been soaking up the sun for your spring breaks, I hope it was a blast! I am extremely envious of you as I sit in my New England house, dealing with snowfall! For the past two weeks, I have been continuing my locavore duties, searching for the best local produce around. Down in North Carolina, my job isn't easy, but I was succeeding, finding some local produce in the grocery store and becoming a regular at Local Yogurt, my new absolute favorite organic froyo! However, while the ground warms and spring lurks just around the corner down south, back home in the small town of Lakeville, Connecticut, I find myself back in time, stuck in the middle of the winter. Look at the snowfall in my backyard!

This is my dog and my snow covered backyard. What a New England spring!

As you can see, it isn't quite farmers market weather up here just yet. I quickly came to realize that being a locavore was going to be mush harder back home then it would be at school, especially without a local froyo shop to fall back on! Even at the local, newly opened Sharon Farm Market, where local and organic food and produce is sold, I couldn't find anything locally grown. Practicing locavoreism proved to be a real challenge in the bitter cold of the north, but fear not! I will be heading back down to the of the carolinas in 24 hours and there, my locavore practices should have the necessary amenities to flourish! See you in the south locavores!

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!

Off we go!! This week I begin my journey as a college locavore, bolding eating where few college students have before! I have planned to eat foods within a 200-250 mile radius of the Elon University campus or foods from the State of North Carolina. I have officially begun the planning for growing my own foods for feeding myself and a group of students a delicious home-grown salad come the end of the semester.

The Saxapahaw General Store in Saxapahaw, North Carolina

My journey officially began this past weekend, with my first exposure to the local foods of the Piedmont Region of North Carolina. Traveling back from the Piedmont Biofuels with a group of environmental students from Elon, we stopped at the remote local watering hole called The Saxapahaw General Store. Here, we scarfed down three pies of the most incredibly delicious pizza I may have ever had. I used to work in a Brooklyn style pizzeria and am very spoiled when it comes to my pizza, so THAT is saying something! However, the best part about that pizza was that nearly all of the ingredients were locally grown or produced. The general store gets regularly sells organic foods and produce from Cane Creek Farm, Carolina Brewery, Chapel Hill Creamery, and other growers and farms right here in North Carolina. Amazing pizza from local produce made for a fantastic lunch and a great start to my journey becoming a locavore!

The Local Yogurt logo, now hanging outside the loyo in Elon, North Carolina

After enjoying my delicious pizza and organic ginger ale, I'm thinking this locavore thing is going to be pretty cool. The next day I headed over to the brand new frozen yogurt store, Local Yogurt, which opened a few days prior just off Elon's campus. They serve yogurt made with local ingredients, like chocolate and honey. The yogurt was so good, I may have found my new YoZone!  This week I plan on continuing eating at Loyo whenever I can. As spring creeps around the corner, I find my mouth watering thinking about the farmers market opening mid-April, where I'm sure to become a regular customer. Check back in soon and see how this locavore is supporting local growers, one small step at a time. Ciao!