Living la vida local, part 1: If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it...

I've been pondering a version of that old riddle during the past month, which, as I'm sure most of you already know, has been the second annual Eat Local Challenge month. Unlike last August's inaugural Eat Local Challenge (during which I apparently wrote 8 posts in the final 2 weeks!), this past month, I haven't had as much time to devote to writing about my experience of eating locally grown and raised foods. My version of the tree-falling-in-the-forest riddle goes like this: if I eat locally and don't blog about, am I still eating locally?

Just to hedge my bets, I thought I'd dash off a quick post [edit: actually 2, with the second part coming tomorrow Thursday], lest all the happy memories of the luscious strawberries, asparagus, fava beans, and wild salmon I've enjoyed during May be replaced by nightmarish visions of unrecognizable foodstuffs oozing hydrogenated fats and high-fructose corn syrup. Who would cast such an evil spell on this prodigal blogger? Am I the only one who has wondered whether the Wiccan-wood-nymph-earth-mother-goddess of the Locavores is, as the name would seem to imply, truly loca, possessing powers we should all fear? Well?

To appease any potential retribution from her Loca-ness (the Loca-ness monster?), I want to assure you all that I have been faithfully living la vida local, feasting on the fruits of our local farms, ranches and fisheries to the best of my ability. Frankly, eating local has been a bowl of cherries (particularly with the first appearance of Frog Hollow's cherries last Saturday).

When it comes to fruits and vegetables, which is the subject of this post (first of two), I have had zero incentive to look beyond the 100 miles from my home which, as any aspiring locavore knows, is where that arbitrary line is drawn beyond which one's stomach shall not cross. Yes, it has been a glorious month to live in this Eden called the Bay Area, filled with an embarrassment of riches that every foodie has been enjoying at our local farmers markets (and in our local restaurants). At home in our kitchen, my wife and I have been ecstatically buried beneath a hailstorm of peas and fava beans, asparagus and artichokes, green garlic and spring onions, which, believe me, have been a vast improvement over the real hail and rain that had saturated us down to the marrow of our bones for the previous 5 months.

The highlight of my farmers market visits in May has been watching the changing parade of wonders that is Mariquita Farm. Here I found some true rarities, like fava leaves, garlic and leek scapes (pictured left), cardoon flowers (not edible, but oddly beautiful, pictured at top of post), and, of course, their treacherous artichokes (pictured above right, which I featured last month).

Three vegetable dishes stood out as highlights in May. First was a starter of grilled asparagus with romesco sauce that I made from local Tierra Vegetables dried chillies, Lagier almonds, and Bariani olive oil, made from a recipe I posted last year.

Second came a seductive yet simple celebration of the fava bean. I cooked up some whole wheat spaghetti and tossed it with briefly cooked fava leaves and fava beans that had been stewed with garlic and rosemary, about half of which I mashed into a velvety sauce. Lots of black pepper and pecorino sardo cheese (from India and Italy, respectively... what're you gonna do?) and a squeeze of lemon made this labor of love one to remember.

Third, another night I made a sybaritic pasta dish consisting of long strands of hollow perciatelli that were sauced carbonara style with a raw farm egg, green garlic, Fatted Calf bacon, Italian (again? Am I falling from grace?) parmigiano reggiano, all buried under an avalanche of sweet peas. One of the few times I would use the word decadent to describe a pasta dish.

Then there's the local fruit. As I've said before, I am loco when it comes to fresh fruit, but I'm no pastry chef. When the fruit is as ridiculously sweet as Ben Lucero's strawberries are (finally, in the last week, they are no longer as waterlogged as previous weeks) or even the first Brooks cherries from Frog Hollow, I prefer to savor every bite unadorned. When I grow tired of gorging myself on plain berries and stone fruit, though, I have a few tricks up my sleeve (most of which involve some variation on custard or cake).

When it comes to fruits and vegetables (including nuts and olives and their oils), if you can afford it (a topic which could fill a whole series of posts), why would you want to not eat local while living in the Bay Area?

Tomorrow Thursday: we'll see that the picture isn't as rosy when it comes to local seafood.

Food|and Drink|Eat Local Challenge|San Francisco|Fruit|Vegetables

Comments

[Matt Armendariz]

What a great post (as usual) and the photography is gorgeous!

[Jennifer]

Oooh, your pictures are gorgeous. Cherries! I want cherries!

[teri]

Where do you buy your pasta? Both the whole wheat and the perciatelli look wonderful and I would love to know where you're shopping.

I almost bought fava leaves from Mariquita; I think you have inspired me to take the plunge on Saturday. I hope you've had a chance to try their nettles; my idea of the perfect local spring dinner is a nest of their nettles, sauteed with Tierra chiles de arbol, and topped with a Marin Sun poached egg. Heaven!

[melissa]

Where do you get perciatelli? I looked once at AG Ferrari and couldn't find it. Looks so delicious!

[Robert Nanders]

OK, if blogging can be cruel and unusual punishment, this qualifies. I'm stuck on an island of culinary isolation. Where I live, you're lucky to get fresh veggies. We don't have a choice but to eat seasonally here, but unfortunately, the growing seasons are remarkably small! It's June, and still no fresh peas! :-(

On the plus side, we did buy some delicious garlic-herb :-)

[Lisa D. Walker]

You are so damn blessed and so are your readers! Thank you for the culinary inspiration. I only hope that I can return the favor someday.

[Lisa D. Walker]

Fiona is on the hunt for the best wheat pasta. Which do you prefer? just give it up!

[drbiggles]

Hey mang,

MMmMm, strawberries.

I'm having a ham steak I bought from a local butcher.

Tootles

[Brett]

Matt and Jennifer, thank you!

Teri, your nettles and poached eggs sound delicious.

Teri, Melissa and Lisa (and Fiona), in these two dishes, I used dry pasta. The perciatelli was good ole reliable DeCecco, available everywhere. The whole wheat spaghetti was made by Rustichella d'Abruzzo and is available at many gourmet stores. I probably bought mine at Whole Foods, Bi-Rite or Rainbow (which sells some varieties bulk), but I really don't remember. The Pasta Shop on 4th St. in Berkeley also sells even more varieties in bulk.

Robert, welcome to IPOS. The pictures of Dubai on your site look beautiful. Maybe I should put a special warning at the top of my posts for you when I'm about to feature fresh vegetable and fruit "food porn" so that you can avert your eyes :-)

Lisa, thank you, sweetie! And give my love to Fiona! Like I said above, I like Rustichella. What do you prefer?

Biggles, ham's a vegetable, isn't it?

[Anna]

Just looking at those photos of the glorious, shining fruit is making me so sad! The more evidence I see that the northern hemisphere is going into summer the sooner I have to face facts that I'm heading into winter down here!!!

[Gabriella]

Gorgeous Produce and your photography really sets it off

[Faux Wood Blinds Gal]

Only wish we could stumble upon fresh produce that would be locally grown up here in the mountains. Love your pictures and your posts:-)