Elmwood-Bidwell Farmers Market

So today was the first EBFM of the season. I got there right at 8 when they opened and I can honestly say I was the first person there. Obviously some of the farmers were already there and set up, but I was the first shopper. I grabbed as much cash as I could find while running out the door but once I got to the market, I realized it was not enough.

I got some little potatoes from Weiss Farm, some apples from the guy who pretty much only sells apples (I have a house guest from Africa staying with me and he LOVES apples) and a vanilla yogurt from White Cow Dairy (a flavor I haven't had!) with actually visible bits of vanilla bean. I can't wait to eat it.

I wish I had about $10 more so I could have bought 3 jars of fruit butter from Blackman Homestead Farms. I sampled the Pumpkin Maple Butter and the Pear & Vanilla Butter and they were amazing!! Next time I am going have to try a third so I know what other flavor I will get. They are $7 each or 3 for $20.

I also stopped by the Go Veggies! tent and was told about their new share program. For $40, you can get 10 items in a month from various locations...one which should be the Farmers Market (I was asked if I thought it would be a good location and I think it would). This would save one about $1 per package. I think I'll give it a try. I've tried to vegetable shares and two bread shares...why not a veggie burger/spring roll/mango pudding share?

There were about ten tents when I went. I am sure some were not there yet but I wonder if some vendors won't be coming for a few more weeks. Today seems to be mostly bread, jarred foods and cellar-ables like apples and potatoes with a little bit of produce.

Five Points Bakery

Last fall, Buffalo First coupon in hand, I decided to sign up for a breadshare from Five Points on Rhode Island. The wheat is all local and the other ingredients are as well.

FPB has really organized their share in a consumer friendly way...you can pick from a list of breads and baked goods and have the same thing every week or change it constantly. I pretty much stick with the Multi-grain. I love it so much. There is just something so wholesome about having a fat slice of toast with jam for breakfast instead of boxed cereal. I feel like I'm doing something special or decadent.

I tried the 100% Whole Wheat and the sourdough ciabatta. The ciabatta is good, very soft, especially for 100% whole grain, and lighter than the multigrain. We can eat it in a day or two whereas the multigrain lasts us all week. It's also quite sour.

Another reason I was sticking with multigrain is that it's one of their only vegan breads. However, seeing as I have re-committed myself to this blog, I will try all the breads so I can report back.

Oh, the cinnamon rolls, fresh (not frozen) are incredible. They're also 100% whole grain and frosted and delicious. They fill you up like whole grain and have a pit of a wheaty taste in the background, but are quite good...much more cinnamon roll like than I expected for a whole wheat dough.

The last time I went in, I saw they had two different rye breads. I love rye and can't wait to try them.

Soy Boy

I'm not trying to do a bunch of posts about brands; it's just happening that way.

Just tried the Soy Boy Caribbean tofu for the first time and it was super delicious. I tried it right out of the package, cooked and also in my recipe (jambalaya). It was great! I thought the Carribean flavor would get diluted in the tomato and spice in the jambalaya but I could still taste it's distinct flavor.

I wanted to mention Soy Boy because when it comes to vegetarian protein sources, it's hard to find something local. Soy Boy is in Rochester and their soy beans don't come further than Michigan.

Before, I'd only had Soy Boy's regular tofu but this flavored ready-to-eat tofu was great; I want to try all the flavors.

White Cow Dairy - revisited

This blog had a post awhile back about WCD. I have always admired the adorable glass jars but could never bring myself to spend $3 on 5.5 oz of yogurt. However, after reading Eating Animals and re-affirming my commitment to foods that are friendly to animals AND having a job that would pay for my meals, I decided to give it a try.

Oh. My. Goodness. This yogurt is incredible. It is definitely worth it when you think of the price of dessert in a restaurant or a drink at a bar...and I would always pick the yogurt given the choice. It is so good. I've tried tons of flavors and it seems that the base taste is pretty consistent and whatever the flavor is just adds to that already delicious taste. This is not true for the orange flavor, which really does over-power the super-yummy yogurt.

These are the flavors I have tried -
- rhubarb
- apple pie
- gingerberry
- maple
- chocolate malt
- cherry
- orange
- butternut

I've had each one once because I just thought it would be fun to keep trying different ones. There are more to try...but I don't know if I'll try to the lemon or the citrus...they would be delicious no doubt but it's not worth missing out on the main yogurt/sweetner flavor.

A little birdy told me the yogurts are cheaper at the Farmers Markets, so you better believe I'll be lining up for them.

Long time, No local

Well, that's not entirely true. Still local, but not really blogging.

I think this blog has been unofficially handed over to me and I just wanted to let the universe know that I am going to take charge and keep posting.

I used to think I was an unlikely contributor because I was a little too local...that is I almost never left the house.

Well, this year hubs and I have turned over a new leaf. I'm out of school and I have a job so we're going to restaurants, buying higher quality (more expensive) food and so I'll have much more on which to report!

Stay tuned, gentle readers!

Juniper - a new restaurant

Juniper opened about a month ago. Right away, Whitney began organizing a dinner. Everyone's schedules dictated that we wait until this weekend. It was worth the wait.

Juniper is amazing and delicious. The menu incorporates local ingredients and even brought a card to the table saying which ingredients were local that week.

The food was excellent. There were seven of us and we ordered six different things and everyone was very happy with their meal. We split two desserts which were also incredible. Highly recommended.

The average main course is about $24. Soups are $6, Desserts $6, salads and appetizers are $8-9. It's a little expensive for Buffalo, but the quality justifies every penny.

Vegetarian options look amazing and I was even able to make a plate out of side dishes from other courses.

I don't eat out a lot, but this has to be one of my favorite places in town.

http://juniperelmwood.com/

Porter Farms

Peaches

I went to the downtown farmer's market on Tuesday.

I got some peaches and they are DELICIOUS!

I am saving a pit and I am going to see if I can grow a tree.

Promised Land

CABBAGE, SWEET CORN, RED ONIONS, CUBENELLE PEPPERS, EGGPLANT (white and purple), BLUE POTATOES, TOMATILLOS

Porter Farms

Promised Land

Eat Local Challenge Tip 2: Veggies

Porter Farms still has space available in its CSA!

Not sure about joining? They have a guest bag program where you can try it out for a week, free. If you like it, you can join and they will pro-rate the cost of your share.

"If you know someone who might be interested in our program, have them try a bag for a week, free! Just call the farm at (585) 757-6823, and provide your name and the guest's name as well as the group to which they would like to have it delivered.

If they would like to join after they receive the gift bag, they can call for a pro-rated price. Keep in mind that we have pick-up sites in both the Buffalo and Rochester areas! "

http://www.porterfarms.org/

Eat Local Challenge Tip 1: Protein

So I am jazzed for the local challenge coming up this month. Veggies and grains should be no problem. However, as a vegetarian, what is a good source of local protein? I don't know if I can bring myself to spend $6 a week on eggs.

What I have found is that SoyBoy, headquartered in Rochester, uses local ingredients whenever possible.

"We source our ingredients locally whenever possible. In the last year we’ve used organic soybeans from the Finger Lakes region of New York (50 miles), Ontario, Canada (150 miles) and Eastern Michigan (260 miles). We try to buy as close to home as we can, but market conditions sometimes mean going a little farther to get the high protein organic beans that we need. But our beans have always come from trusted North American farms." http://www.soyboy.com/faq.htm Also, bonus - no GMO soy in their products.

If anyone has information on legumes, nuts, whole grains...please share. I know Promised Land does dry beans (and provides grains for Five Points Bakery), but I think that is later in the fall. I know the Eat Local Challenge lets you go 20% non-local, but I'd like to do the best I can.

Porter Farms, Week 4, July 18

I think this red lettuce was "fire lettuce." We also go a ton of green beans - split into two bags since I share this share. Also shown are zucchini, summer squash, onions, and that pale sputnik in the middle is a kohlrabi.

Porter Farms, Week 3, July 11

LOTS of lettuce, spinach, zucchini, summer squash, and onions. I miss getting all this lettuce.