October Eat Local Challenge

I wanted to announce on my blog that the Eat Local Challenge will be taking place in the month of October. Eat local for a whole month, you say... Well, you get to make up your own rules with what you think you can realistically do. I do want to encourage you to sign up for the challenge and strive for at least one full local meal per week. And if you want to do the full month, go for it!

Honestly, with me having two busy little ones and not much time to shop locally, I think I will be aiming for at least one fully local meal per week. Ideally, with no children, I'd probably be able to do the full month, but I'll sign up for what I can do. I think I'll also commit to dining at local mom & pop restaurants, no restaurant chains, McDonald's etc... My end goal is to eat as locally as I can, so everyday I'll try to incorporate something local.

Try to think outside the box on this one and let me share with you some great resources.

Local Food Co-op (contact Lenore, she is extremely friendly and this seems like a great way for us busy people to have one set place to order and pick up local goods. Also, if anyone is interested in possibly having me, or someone else, pick up your order in Brentwood for a nominal fee (price of gas or less) with a pick up in Rochester, NH, e-mail me.)

Warren Farm - they have a full field of PYO tomatoes for $1/lb. This would make great crockpot pasta sauce, salsa, or to put on top of your pizza. This is a great local bargain.

Butternut Farm - everyone knows I'm a die hard Butternut Farm fan! $.89/lb for apples. Think about all that yummy apple crisp or applesauce you can make!

Seacoast Harvest - your local food guide

Seacoast Growers Association - a list of a few local farmer's markets. Most are open through the middle of October.

I'm going to be blogging soon about a new place to get raw milk in Milton, NH. At the Thirteen Colonies Farm (near the NH Farm Museum), one gallon of raw milk is only $4 with a $5 bottle deposit. Stand by for that post! There's also Brookford Farm for raw milk, yogurt, quark cheese, cream, eggs and meat.

(**I no longer advocate Thirteen Colonies Farm.  Please direct your raw milk business to Brookford Farm.  I am not saying that Thirteen Colonies milk is unsafe, I do not know that, but for me and a few others, their practices seem a bit off.  If you have further questions, feel free to e-mail me.)

So your mission, if you choose to accept, is to head over to the Eat Local Challenge website and sign up for the October challenge and get thinking on ways you can incorporate more local foods into your menus. And be sure to keep checking my blog for updates, recipes, events, ideas and more on how to live locally. You can do this by joining as a Follower of my blog or by signing up for e-mail updates.

Get ready for a challenge! We can do it!