Two More Reasons to Eat Local

It's been a hot and hazy week here in Halifax Nova Scotia. We've already broken records (at least twice) for heat - which didn't stop me from going blueberry picking twice this week.

As you can see, Boaz at two and a half, already knows the routine....Pick ....
eat eight...
one for the bucket.
Even nine month old Dov loves blueberries, here with his mummy who can't feed him fast enough.
Back to the title of the post "2 more reasons to eat local" ....Reason One: delicious family outings. This one was at Between the Bushes (200 acres of blueberries for "pick-your-own" and commercial produce) that also has a fantastic restaurant that my Honey and I will go back to without little messy children (the picnic tables outside beside the fish pond & fountain that captivated Boaz was perfect for family outings).

The day before I went out to Lunenburg County Winery (an assignment for foodtv's blog - I'll keep you posted), a unique Nova Scotian winery. Heather and her husband started a fruit farm thirty years ago and while they do make traditional grape wine...
...they just see grapes as one of many fruits. They have 100 acres of blueberries (you can pick your own and they have a commercial operation as well), 6 acres of grapes and more acres of other berries and a small orchard as well. What that means is blueberry wine is made from nothing but fermented blueberries, same for strawberry, apple, kiwi (did you know that they are grown right here in the Annapolis Valley?), peach, cherry, pear, elderberry....list of wines is endless
If they don't produce it, someone in the Annapolis Valley does. I couldn't resist the Honey Moon Wine, which is made from fermented local honey - think Mead and Harry Potter or your favorite Medieval story...Robin Hood, King Arthur...but I digress. The Oxbells and Fireflies is a sweet wine made of apples and maple syrup and apparently is a fantastic accompaniment with curries. My bottle is in the fridge chilling for the first chance I get to heat up the kitchen with a pot of curry. Stay tuned.

Reason two for the title - " more reasons to eat local". One day this week, it was too hot to do anything except find an air conditioned theater and spend two hours in a dark cold place. My younger daughter, Sharron and I didn't even care which movie we actually saw...it was more important to pick one that started....NOW!!!

We ended up seeing Food Inc. which is a truly eye-opening, thought provoking documentary about the food industry in the US. I don't usually stand on a soapbox about anything, and I've always liked to buy locally simply because..well, it tastes better. This film gave me an even more important reason to 1.) go to local markets first; 2.) read labels for point of origin; 3.) ask my grocer/butcher/fish monger where it came from and 4.) buy free range and organic whenever possible. But I suggest you check out the link above and/or see the film for yourself. Hopefully, this was enough to peak your interests.

I've often mentioned Hellmann's Eat Real Eat Local Campaign. And I did mention Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food and his tv program Fowl Dinners . Between eye-opening facts on their sites, and watching the film and tv show, I really encourage you...no matter where you live, to be more aware of what you eat and look for local first.

Here's what I'll be buying this week at the Farmer's Market....fresh Nova Scotia lamb (for that curry from my newest cookbook - Curry Cuisine ), fresh fish and seafood - scallops, ( I saw an awesome looking recipe for curried scallop salad in Everyday Indian doable even if it is hot), goat cheese, goat yoghurt and free range eggs, fresh herbs, and whatever else catches my eye.

Where are you shopping for food this weekend?