ecoyear

It has not been excruciating. Busy, fun, delicious, and fairly easy. I have granola with milk in the morning, salad with cheese and crackers for lunch, chicken or sausage with greens or asparagus, or pasta with sauce for dinner. I have not bought any cookies, boxed cereals, breakfast pastries etc... - I am baking all my own (that's the busy part). I have succumbed to buying strawberries from California (the kids are my excuse) because there is only rhubarb available locally, unless you are prepared with dried berries and preserves. I have tried sorrel and dandelions for the first time - they are really refreshing and delicious raw in salads, and made my first rhubarb pie - which was outrageously good (see epicurious here).

I stock up at the market first thing on Saturdays (the best stuff is sometimes gone by 9am...I'm sure things will get better but I am anxious to try newly available asparagus and rhubarb). I spend about $100, including meat, and my cheese and crackers indulgence. I spend another $50 per week on milk, and non-local items my kids beg for (chicken nuggets, "pup"cakes, ice cream), as they - remember - don't actually like salad (they do like asparagus!).

Cost, which many people bring up, is probably less at the grocery store - at this point, I don't actually know - but folks, we need to adjust our budget. Oil has gone from $10 per barrel in 1998, to $125 now, and is set to hit $200 sooner than later. I can't think of a better way to plan ahead than to subsidize our local farmers ASAP. Local farms need to hear loud and clear NOW that there is a solid market for produce, that they should ramp up production yesterday - or we'll be rioting in the streets along with the rest of the world.

At this point, I am not sure anyone needs recipes, but try this:

Start with 1 lb asparagus (fat spears from Pachamama Farm were outrageously good)
Heat oven to 400 F, and place rack in top part of oven
Wash asparagus and snap bottom part of stems off
Roll in olive oil and sprinkle with salt
Place on baking sheet and bake 5 minutes on each side
That's it! Enjoy!