I must admit that I haven't been too good about eating local this month. Yes, I have a few things in my garden, some local meat in the freezer and the local milk and bread staples that I can get at the grocery store, but beyond that I've disappointed myself during our June Locavore challenge. I wondered what was different this summer than last, when I was eating local produce almost exclusively. What I realized was that my weekly routine has changed. Last summer I had Saturday mornings mostly free and I made it a habit to visit the Farmer's Market with my mug of coffee and cloth shopping bags. I usually went to Oconomowoc and found that I not only loved the food, but also the atmosphere and the people. I quickly established my favorite vendors and could anticipate what food would be on my Saturday AM shopping list. Since I rarely had more than an hour to fit this outing in, I typically went alone and relished my time to myself and didn't feel guilty doing so since I was gathering food for my family at the same time.
This summer our family has been busy with kids sports on Saturday mornings so the Farmer's Market simply hasn't happened much. I know that there are market's on other days (Dousman on Wed aft and Menomonee Falls on Sun), but I haven't yet built it into my routine so that I can count on it. Other things seem to come up and I find myself back at the Piggly Wiggly buying California food saying that next week will be different. Whether it is working out or farmer's market shopping, routine and convenience are half the battle.
Once I realized what was behind the change, I felt much better and headed to Dousman for some sugar snap peas, strawberries and bacon at their Wed market. This time I was with the kids and a friend which was a fun in a different way from my solo outings. I am hopeful that this is the start of a new habit (for this summer's schedule anyway) and will look forward the the local blueberries that I have heard can only be found at the Dousman market in the weeks to come!
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Phil and I went to the Public Market on Saturday. We bought a whole chicken (roast chicken with rosemary - yum) from the Amish as well as fresh strawberries. We also bought milk from happy cows - not California cows, but local farms near Appleton who do not use hormones. We bought a half gallon of whole milk. It is soooo good!
Isn't the public market fun? I have only been there a few times but I am happy it is there and would stop by lots if I lived or worked in the area. Summer is a delicious time to eat local.
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