Over the past few years I have read plenty and heard plenty of discussion regarding eating local; and, I have made an effort to locate and buy locally raised beef, milk and eggs. Along those same lines, when at the grocery store,  I give preference to produce items that have been raised nearby (or a the least in the State of Colorado). And yet, until this evening, I’ve not really had the energy to go all out and make a genuinely local meal at home.

Surprisingly, making a locally based — and if I may toot my own horn — gourmet meal, was actually quite simple. A few of the ingredients (such as the flour, eggs and milk) I already had on hand. The others I purchased this morning at our local Farmer’s Market.  I describe the meal as locally based, since the salt & pepper were most certainly not local, the olive oil of Mediterranean origin and the flour although purportedly milled nearby, could have ultimately come from a variety of states in the US.

Decidedly Local Ingredients (and their origin)

 Organic Green Lettuce — my back yard

 Organic Bok Choy — Ollin Farms

Mixed Mushrooms - Hazel-Del Mushrooms

Organic Garlic Snapes - Toad Farms

Goat Feta — Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy

Organic Milk — Organic Valley (Rocky Mountain Pastures)

 Organic Free Roaming Vegetarian Fed Eggs - Nest Fresh

Rieseling — Two Rivers Winery

Grass Fed Free Range Beef — B Bar S Ranch

Organic Purple Iris — my back yard

One of the bonuses of buying local is the level of “FRESH” that is is built into freshly picked produce. Never before have I seen such beautiful and crisp bok choy.

In fact this bok choy, which came from Ollin Farms, was so fresh and crisp that you can literally see the “crisp” in the picture to the right. Note the bright colors and the way the bok choy almost seems to be bursting with life! And, although I seared the bok choy for dinner, we ate a few bites raw and it could have made a delightful salad. The only thing I regret is that I bought two heads and not more!

The menu? Crepes filled with a mixture of sauted garlic snapes, ground beef, one egg, goat cheese and a shake of black pepper. I then topped the crepes with mushrooms browned in butter and mixed with seared bok choy. A 2006 Riesling from Two Rivers Winery accompanied the dinner and the taste of everything was full and frankly astounding. If you are looking for an excellent full bodied crepe recipe, check out the start of Chapter 12 in the book Plenty by Alisa Smith and JB Mackinnon — the best and easiest to make crepes I’ve ever made.

The meal was also special because although we didn’t raise the food (except for the lettuce) ourselves, we bought the food as a family and were able to talk to individual farmers in the process. Some of the food was even raised with in a few miles of our own home — the closest farm (Ollin Farms) being just under a mile from our front door!

Shopping at your standard grocery store may be efficient on a personal level, but I also never completely trust what I am buying.  Our family goes to great efforts to eat healthfully, so it is wonderful to be able to trace our food from the farm to the table.

In addition, in a time in which so much of our economy and so many of our jobs are being shipped over seas,  it just makes me feel good inside to support a local farmer, especially a local, small scale, organic, sustainably oriented farmer!  If you have yet to visit your local Farmer’s Market (this year or even ever) check out the Farmer’s Market directory, check the schedule and mark your calendar. And, when you go — don’t forget to take your reusable or re-used bags!