The local food movement is about place and the desire to reconnect oneself to foods that are either grown, raised or native to where we live. Learning the locality of our foods is not only a challenge to engage but an education to gain. For all of our technological gadgets and modern amenities, there is something romantic and pragmatic about knowing where you live and what foods are grown there. Some might say this is about redefining ‘home.’ Our sense of place effects our identity, whether urban or rural, rich or poor. The local food movement deepens this shift in self, now we can literally taste and smell and touch those earthly things that make our environment, home.

From a political and economic perspective, the local food movement is also about sustainability and local food economies. As an economy of scale, the food movement could be regional or within a neighborhood in a city. The vegetable grower at the farmer’s market is an excellent example. You go to the market and you meet the person or family that planted the seed, that watered the plant and harvested the crop for sale at the market. There are no “middle men,” processing facilities or delivery trucks from the other side of the country. There is the consumer and the producer, standing eye to eye and creating a very real monetary exchange.

To move beyond the farmer’s market, the local food movement also invigorates people to learn foraging methods. In this way, instead of an economy we return to the ‘old ways’ of food procurement: hunting and gathering. At this point in time I do not think one is better than the other – foraging and farmer’s markets. Both are opportunities to reestablish a sense of self in a place, again both urban or rural.

For this week’s menu I want to participate in both means of local food production. Tomorrow we will return to the woods to hunt mushrooms; and Sunday we will return to the market to buy produce. To assist me with this strictly local meal plan, I went to the library and found the perfect book: The Pacific Northwest by Jean Galton and published by Williams-Sonoma. Of the seven meals I planned, 4 are from this cookbook and the other 3 I put together. Next week’s menu is the following (asterisks are next to recipes from the book):

• lamb chops with parsnip puree and roasted broccoli
• poached chicken with delicata squash and chanterelle mushrooms
• red lentil soup with walla walla marmalade *
• chicken, blue cheese and arugula salad *
• polenta with mushrooms and hazelnuts *
• macaroni and cheese with onions and kale with buttered bread crumbs *
• potato and fennel gratin with roasted broccoli *

I have to admit, I am really really excited about these meals. The recipes are fairly easy and the ingredient list is not that bad – everything can be purchased at the farmer’s market. This ‘project’ got me thinking about regional meals, and if any of my readers live in other parts of the country, maybe you could share some meals you have made that reflect your sense of place.

Related posts:

1. The Urban Farming Revolution
2. Does eating seasonally equal eating “American?” (weekly menu 6)
3. The 100-Mile Diet vs. World Hunger (part 3)
4. Urban Foraging
5. USDA Destroys Local Economies

Tags: Chicken, foraging, lamb, local food movement, NW cuisine, seasonal eating, wild mushrooms