Search...
Home Subscribe
Pie
Home Subscribe
Recent topics Flagged topics Hot topics Best topics
Search...
Search within cooking Search permies
Advance search Google search
Register / Login
WGD garden Permaculture bootcamp with people wielding tools Master Gardener Program online permaculture design course with pie you get 2 thumbs up and 1 thumbs down
  • Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
Shovel black and white Green Living Book Steampunk airship invention--show off your invention! Master Gardener Program Thread boost to do list
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Carla Burke
  • John F Dean
  • Timothy Norton
  • Nancy Reading
  • r ranson
  • Jay Angler
  • Pearl Sutton
stewards:
  • paul wheaton
  • Tereza Okava
  • Andrés Bernal
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
gardeners:
  • Jeremy VanGelder
  • M Ljin
  • Matt McSpadden

Local Meal Challenge

 
Matt McSpadden
gardener
Posts: 2802
Location: Central Maine (Zone 5a)
1346
I like...
homeschooling kids trees chicken food preservation building woodworking homestead
posted 1 month ago
  • Likes 16
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hi All,
Can you create and cook (and eat) an entire meal where everything has been grown in your state/province?

I think local food is important. It is much better than getting shipped half way around the world, no matter how well it was grown. For some people, this may be normal and easy, but for many of us, we are stuck still going to the grocery store, and it might be a little more challenging. Post your meal here and tell us where you got the food. Your back yard? The farm down the road? A farmers market?

Pictures will get you more apples :)

PS - You don't have to be too specific with the name of the farm, if you wish to maintain privacy.

"When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind." C.S. Lewis
Visit https://themaineingredient.com for organic, premium dried culinary herbs that are grown, processed, and packaged in the USA.

 
Matt McSpadden
gardener
Posts: 2802
Location: Central Maine (Zone 5a)
1346
I like...
homeschooling kids trees chicken food preservation building woodworking homestead
posted 1 month ago
  • Likes 13
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I did an easy one recently. Corn chowder.

I got bacon and potatoes from Misty Brook Farm, I got milk from Palmer Hill Farm, and I got creamed corn from my freezer, which came from Heald Farm.

Delicious!

"When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind." C.S. Lewis
Visit https://themaineingredient.com for organic, premium dried culinary herbs that are grown, processed, and packaged in the USA.

 
Mk Neal
pollinator
Posts: 1262
Location: Chicago
430
I like...
dog forest garden fish foraging urban cooking food preservation bike
posted 1 month ago
  • Likes 13
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Last night dinner was local, other than some seasonings  (not same-state, but within 50-mile radius). We had deviled eggs, corn-on-the-cob, potatoes, and a salad of cucumbers, onions, and peaches.

Summer is an easy season in the Midwest, because you can really make a meal from the farmers market.

Weeds are just plants with enough surplus will to live to withstand normal levels of gardening!--Alexandra Petri

 
Matt McSpadden
gardener
Posts: 2802
Location: Central Maine (Zone 5a)
1346
I like...
homeschooling kids trees chicken food preservation building woodworking homestead
posted 1 month ago
  • Likes 6
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Mk Neal wrote:Last night dinner was local, other than some seasonings  (not same-state, but within 50-mile radius). We had deviled eggs, corn-on-the-cob, potatoes, and a salad of cucumbers, onions, and peaches.

Summer is an easy season in the Midwest, because you can really make a meal from the farmers market.



That sounds delicious! And yeah, if people are near a border or something, keeping it within a reasonable drive is acceptable for this challenge, even if its not technically same state or same province :)

"When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind." C.S. Lewis
Visit https://themaineingredient.com for organic, premium dried culinary herbs that are grown, processed, and packaged in the USA.

 
Timothy Norton
Steward of piddlers
Posts: 5931
Location: Upstate NY, Zone 5, 43 inch Avg. Rainfall
2724
I like...
monies home care dog fungi trees chicken food preservation cooking building composting homestead
posted 1 month ago
  • Likes 6
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I really like the idea of this thread, thank you Matt!

I am going to start planning and see if I can whip up something fun that is locally sourced.

- Tim's Homestead Journal - Purchase a copy of Building a Better World in Your Backyard - Purchase 6 Decks of Permaculture Cards -
- Purchase 12x Decks of Permaculture Cards - Purchase a copy of the SKIP Book - Purchase 12x copies of Building a Better World in your Backyard

 
Christopher Weeks
master gardener
Posts: 4629
Location: Carlton County, Minnesota, USA: 3b; Dfb; sandy loam; in the woods
2383
7
I like...
forest garden trees chicken food preservation cooking fiber arts woodworking homestead ungarbage
posted 1 month ago
  • Likes 9
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I have made a few meals where everything has been grown on my property, but there's not much variety yet.

Also, what's the status of salt for this challenge? (It's not a "grown" thing.) The salt we buy comes from 1200 miles away -- I wonder if there's a local old-time salt lick I could access.

I'm also thinking oil is a substantial challenge. I'm not sure I've ever even seen a source of local oil other than butter. Maybe I'll get enough sunflowers this year to squeeze for oil.

Last night I served nachos and the chips are mass-market from wherever, but I think everything else was local just by accident.

I'll put something together and document it!
 
Matt McSpadden
gardener
Posts: 2802
Location: Central Maine (Zone 5a)
1346
I like...
homeschooling kids trees chicken food preservation building woodworking homestead
posted 1 month ago
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Christopher Weeks wrote:Also, what's the status of salt for this challenge? (It's not a "grown" thing.) The salt we buy comes from 1200 miles away -- I wonder if there's a local old-time salt lick I could access.

I'm also thinking oil is a substantial challenge. I'm not sure I've ever even seen a source of local oil other than butter. Maybe I'll get enough sunflowers this year to squeeze for oil.



I will allow salt from afar. But I think all the other spices and oils/fats should be local for this meal challenge. For instance, most people cannot grow black pepper in the USA without a greenhouse, but you might be able to find or grow nasturtiums which can have a peppery flavor. Most people are not going to be able to make their own "normal" vegetable oil, but might (as Chris mentions) be able to use sunflower oil, or an animal fat from nearby. Or perhaps make a soup or salad that doesn't need oil for cooking.
 
John F Dean
master steward
Posts: 7593
Location: southern Illinois, USA
2797
I like...
goat cat dog chicken composting toilet food preservation pig solar wood heat homestead composting
posted 1 month ago
  • Likes 9
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I raise pigs, chicken goats, and I have a garden that has beans, tomatoes, potatoes, salad fp greens, onions, beets, carrots and sun chokes. We have a great farmer neighbor that drops off about a bushel of wheat for free.  Even though I am not sure what is on it, I accept well intentioned gifts.  So, many of our meals fall into being local.  

Some people age like fine wine. I aged like milk … sour and chunky.

 
Matt McSpadden
gardener
Posts: 2802
Location: Central Maine (Zone 5a)
1346
I like...
homeschooling kids trees chicken food preservation building woodworking homestead
posted 1 month ago
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

John F Dean wrote:I raise pigs, chicken goats, and I have a garden that has beans, tomatoes, potatoes, salad fp greens, onions, beets, carrots and sun chokes. We have a great farmer neighbor that drops off about a bushel of wheat for free.  Even though I am not sure what is on it, I accept well intentioned gifts.  So, many of our meals fall into being local.  



That is fantastic! Can you share a recent one to give people ideas?

"When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind." C.S. Lewis
Visit https://themaineingredient.com for organic, premium dried culinary herbs that are grown, processed, and packaged in the USA.

 
Mk Neal
pollinator
Posts: 1262
Location: Chicago
430
I like...
dog forest garden fish foraging urban cooking food preservation bike
posted 2 weeks ago
  • Likes 6
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
For local oil sources, I have bought from https://www.americanhazelnutcompany.com/growers.html

More regional than local, but most of the growers are between where I grew up and where I live now.

Weeds are just plants with enough surplus will to live to withstand normal levels of gardening!--Alexandra Petri

 
John F Dean
master steward
Posts: 7593
Location: southern Illinois, USA
2797
I like...
goat cat dog chicken composting toilet food preservation pig solar wood heat homestead composting
posted 2 weeks ago
  • Likes 8
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hi Matt,

One of your posts has me wondering.  I live near Saline County. ..named for obvious reasons.  While there is no major salt production there at present.  I suspect if I looked hard enough, I would find someone selling it .

Ok, a quick check reveals the majority of salt came out of a neighboring county,Gallatin. According  to an Illinois.gov site, in 1820 1/3 of the states tax revenue came from the sales of salt.  Maybe, boundaries get confusing. Gallatin county was eventually split into several counties including Saline.  I suspect the references to Gallatin County actually mean the present Saline County

For those outside Illinois, the state was initially settled from the south northward (traffic came down the Ohio River from the eastern cities.  It also traveled up the Illinois River from St. Louis). Chicago was nothing.  In 1825 the bank at Shawneetown, illinois turned down a loan to Chicago because it would “never amount to anything”.  

Anyway, I am still hunting for a local source of salt.

Some people age like fine wine. I aged like milk … sour and chunky.

 
Christopher Weeks
master gardener
Posts: 4629
Location: Carlton County, Minnesota, USA: 3b; Dfb; sandy loam; in the woods
2383
7
I like...
forest garden trees chicken food preservation cooking fiber arts woodworking homestead ungarbage
posted 2 weeks ago
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
To expand John's post: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois_Salines

And a similar resource closer to my old stomping grounds, Boonslick: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boone%27s_Lick_State_Historic_Site + https://mdc.mo.gov/magazines/conservationist/2001-01/saline-springs

A few more potential sites are listed here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_lick#In_the_Americas

I haven't found a good local source up here.
 
Matt McSpadden
gardener
Posts: 2802
Location: Central Maine (Zone 5a)
1346
I like...
homeschooling kids trees chicken food preservation building woodworking homestead
posted 2 weeks ago
  • Likes 6
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I'm lucky that I live in a coastal state and am only about 30 minutes from the beach. So I have options for local salt... but don't let a lack of salt dissuade you from taking on this meal challenge. First, I do allow salt from away, but all other spices/herbs should be local.

Also, there are a number of dishes that can be made without salt. I know there are more people out there doing this. Any one want to share?

"When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind." C.S. Lewis
Visit https://themaineingredient.com for organic, premium dried culinary herbs that are grown, processed, and packaged in the USA.

 
M Ljin
gardener
Posts: 956
Location: Zone 5
425
I like...
ancestral skills forest garden foraging composting toilet fiber arts bike medical herbs seed writing ungarbage
posted 2 weeks ago
  • Likes 7
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
My breakfast was one of these local meals—acorn and greens in a stew, with some non-local salt.

I once made a soup for a gathering of people made with only local food and nothing I had bought. Nettles, runner beans, Roy Calais corn hominy…I think I put a delicata squash in too, potatoes, and maybe some garlic. It was a while ago so I am having trouble remembering everything but everyone liked it. And I put no salt in it. One person brought ramp butter to add and that was delicious.

The hardest thing in this climate seems to be fat.
 
M Ljin
gardener
Posts: 956
Location: Zone 5
425
I like...
ancestral skills forest garden foraging composting toilet fiber arts bike medical herbs seed writing ungarbage
posted 3 days ago
  • Likes 9
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Dinner tonight is crisped garlic mustard and wild parsnip, with a soup of plantain, nettle, lamb’s quarters buds and acorn. The non-local thing is olive oil but I could have made it state-local by using butter. The soup is leftovers from breakfast.

I shouldn’t have added so much plantain. They are just such a common weed, and nutritious, but the flavor is overpowering.

Yellow transparent apples (an early variety) make an excellent snack through the day!
 
M Ljin
gardener
Posts: 956
Location: Zone 5
425
I like...
ancestral skills forest garden foraging composting toilet fiber arts bike medical herbs seed writing ungarbage
posted 3 days ago
  • Likes 8
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
It’s also possible to make acorn oil, and some people make it. The northern acorns supposedly aren’t the best; small, southern acorns of the red oak group are. So too with hickory (bitternut or “oilnut” hickory especially, which is common here). And the oil extraction doesn’t require leaching because the tannins won’t come out with the oil.

Northern red oaks have decent fat content, though, and so I consider them a slightly fatty food anyway.

People don’t think of them this way but nettles are also fatty. I notice an oil come off of them when I make nettle soup; it settles out and oxidizes to a deep greenish-purple, sticking to cookware. Maybe that’s part of why they’re so delicious?
 
G Freden
pollinator
Posts: 754
Location: West Yorkshire, UK
313
posted 2 days ago
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Regarding oil, what about lard, tallow, etc?  Our main cooking fat is tallow which we render ourselves from fat our local butcher gives us.  His family raises the beef and pork that he sells in his shop.

Trying to achieve self-reliance on a tiny suburban plot: http://gardenofgaladriel.blogspot.com

 
M Ljin
gardener
Posts: 956
Location: Zone 5
425
I like...
ancestral skills forest garden foraging composting toilet fiber arts bike medical herbs seed writing ungarbage
posted 2 days ago
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

G Freden wrote:Regarding oil, what about lard, tallow, etc?  Our main cooking fat is tallow which we render ourselves from fat our local butcher gives us.  His family raises the beef and pork that he sells in his shop.



I am vegetarian so that’s why. I do use butter.
 
Laura Trovillion
Posts: 40
8
posted 1 day ago
  • Likes 8
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Central IL is feeling more fall than summer at the moment so tonight I am making beef stew: carrots, onions and potatoes from our garden. Beef from a friend's farm and bacon fat for braising from the same friends bacon. Dessert is roasted sungold tomato ice cream: roasted sungolds from our garden, honey from a friend, and milk/ cream from Jersey cows at Kilgus farm dairy. All local
 
Nancy Reading
steward and tree herder
Posts: 10648
Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland. Nearly 70 inches rain a year
5063
5
I like...
transportation dog forest garden foraging trees books food preservation woodworking wood heat rocket stoves ungarbage
posted 1 day ago
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Laura Trovillion wrote:Dessert is roasted sungold tomato ice cream


Oh my?! roasted tomato icecream... I'm not sure whether that sounds nice or not? presumably you find it worth using your produce on though, perhaps I should broaden my horizons!

How Permies works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads
My projects on Skye: The tree field, Growing and landracing, perennial polycultures, "Don't dream it - be it! "

 
Matt McSpadden
gardener
Posts: 2802
Location: Central Maine (Zone 5a)
1346
I like...
homeschooling kids trees chicken food preservation building woodworking homestead
posted 1 day ago
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Laura Trovillion wrote:Central IL is feeling more fall than summer at the moment so tonight I am making beef stew: carrots, onions and potatoes from our garden. Beef from a friend's farm and bacon fat for braising from the same friends bacon. Dessert is roasted sungold tomato ice cream: roasted sungolds from our garden, honey from a friend, and milk/ cream from Jersey cows at Kilgus farm dairy. All local



That beef stew sounds great. I must admit I have never tried tomato icrecream. In fact, I never knew that existed until now I learned something new.

"When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind." C.S. Lewis
Visit https://themaineingredient.com for organic, premium dried culinary herbs that are grown, processed, and packaged in the USA.

 
Michael Cox
pollinator
Posts: 3910
Location: Kent, UK - Zone 8
717
I like...
books composting toilet bee rocket stoves wood heat homestead
posted 1 day ago
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
For those who may struggle to source local quality meat, there are facebook groups that connect hunters with excess meat to individuals who want it. In the UK we have "Giving Up the Game". I picked up a 40kg fallow deer this weekend for a good price and have stocked my freezer for the next few months. These are mostly hunters doing crop protection - pretty consistent supply of rabbits, wood pigeon, deer at a good price and all local.

Moderator, Treatment Free Beekeepers group on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/treatmentfreebeekeepers/

 
A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor. But it did make this tiny ad:
Learn Permaculture through a little hard work
https://wheaton-labs.com/bootcamp
reply
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
Boost this thread!
Similar Threads
More...