Posted in Local Eating and Purchasing
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When I read Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I was flabbergasted by her statement that she calculated the number of onions she planted, so she’d have enough for the year. I couldn’t imagine the effort and time she had put into the planning of her garden. Now, one quarter of the year into our journey to learn to eat locally, I’m wishing I’d been keeping meticulous records. I’m not sure where to start: with what I buy, or what I cook, or after the fact, with what we’ve eaten? My pantry is filling up with jars of tomatoes, peaches and jam; my freezer is filling with diced peppers and onions and spaghetti sauce. But I don’t have any sense if I’m even in the ballpark for what we’ll consume this winter. I’m ready to go buy locally milled flour and oats and lentils, but I have no sense of how much to buy. I know our farmer calculates every spring how much to plant to cover the shares in his CSA. He told me that this was the first year he knew what to plant, since this year they filled up all their shares (and have a waiting list!) so they don’t have to rely on the caprices of the Farmer’s Market crowd. And I guess for summer food, I can just rely on their shares, since I have bought no vegetables and very little fruit while the farm has been delivering. I guess I just need to put a list in my cupboard, and every time I finish another bag or box of something, mark it down… for a year. And then increase it every year, since my boys seem to be consuming more food by the minute. |
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