Local Foods Update for September

This month has been the busiest season for our local farmers' markets. I have enjoyed having so many fruits and vegetables to choose from at their peak of freshness and flavour. Eating all the food has sometimes been a challenge. I ate fresh vegetable soup every day last week and still had some left over. I just don't have much extra time for freezing or canning food when it is in season.

Today I was cleaning out the fridge and found a pound of spinach that needed to be used right away. I Googled "recipe with one pound of spinach" and came up a great new site called Seasonal Chef. I found links to farmers' markets across Canada and United States as well a number of interesting recipes. My spinach search ended at at page on this site called Nine Spinach Recipes from Around the World.

I made the Cottage Cheese and Spinach Gratin pictured above and will put the recipe on my recipe blog. (with a little reduction in salt)

I read with interest the link to a blog called Truly Local. Many markets, including our largest local one, have an abundance of peddlers who resell wholesale produce that may have been shipped across the continent. The quality of this produce is often substandard and it is definitely not locally grown food. It is important to ask vendors if they are local farmers selling food they have grown themselves.

Next weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving, the celebration of our local harvests. I have started preparing food for a family dinner that will feature the best of our farm foods. We have ordered a turkey from a farmer in the region.

...so much to be thankful for!