Eating Local

Just returning from this morning's Farmer's Market in Westfield. ("Local food," for now, means anywhere in the county--quite a bit closer than California or South America.) Got some glorious looking tomatoes and peppers for the pot of Ohio State chili my husband is cooking up, as well as grass fed beef, brown eggs, some cheese, and a nice Amish-baked peach pie for dessert.

Early in our Chautauqua county home search, we very nearly settled in Westfield.  We love the older homes and the walkable village environment. But it didn't work out, and we found our place in West Ellicott, which is not quite as walkable (though not far from anything), but we have lots of room for a garden and we like the neighbors.

I've started a page on local food, though with its 1557 commercial farms, 15,500 acres of grapes, and eight wineries, Chautauqua County has more farms and produces more grapes than any other county in New York State, there is much to choose from and I'm not going to list all of them here. I've listed the regular Farmers Markets and some Farm Markets.  We've even found a good selection of local produce at Wegman's.

I gave up on trying to grow vegetables when we were in Cleveland because everything was getting eaten up by "varmints" (rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, groundhogs, etc) before it ever got to my table. Instead, I developed a knack for cottage flower gardening, with a few herbs thrown in. Now, however, I'm interested in giving it another try, and will install deer and rabbit proof fencing around my beds to improve my odds. We'll be installing a couple of raised beds this fall and filling them with soil and compost so they'll be ready to go in the spring.

This year, we became shareholders in a CSA, Roots and Wings Family Farm, and that has kept us supplied with lots of fresh organic produce all summer.

I'm easing back into preserving food--something I learned from my mom, but haven't done in many years.  This year I made strawberry jam. Our loaded apple trees suggest I'll be canning applesauce this fall. I may get some tomatoes done too.

Food grows in abundance here, but nothing grows during the winter months, so we need to plan ahead for those times.