Local Food Month Parameters

Okay, well I kept thinking I would start into my local food month foray on Monday, July 16th. This wasn't really just a random date, it fell immediately after my sister-in-law's wedding and my best friend's son's baptism. These two things are not under my control and they certainly aren't about my needs as a "locovore". Yet, I decided that throughout my local food lifestyle things often wouldn't be in my control....friends would invite us for dinner, parents may come to town and want to take us out to eat, special events would come up. Also, we have been buying local and eating (mostly) local for a while now, so why wait? Well, we decided not too. We had our first completely local meal on Tuesday night and the spirit hit us....so here we go!

I thought I should let any one following our eating habits in on our basic parameters:
1) This is an experiment into a new lifestyle, one that hopefully will lead to lifetime habits, so we are not going to get bogged down in being purists.
2) Spices and seasonings (for example, salt, pepper, cumin, dried sage) are allowed.
3) Kids' are sometimes allowed to break rules. I have three small children, none of whom find this project as exciting as I do. We always eat dinner as a family, but if they are dying for some orange juice or cereal for breakfast or goldfish during snack, I will cross that bridge when I come to it! Also, they go frequently to playdates and obviously I don't have any control there.
4) We would like for our food to come from as close a source as possible...this may mean in our backyard, or it could be 100 miles away (our maximum distance will stay under 2 hours away).
5) Ingredients in our refrigerator (such as a few leftover cheeses, tofu and soy milk) can be used so that they don't go bad...although no new such ingredients will be purchased.
6) I am going by the philosphy Barbara Kingsolver uses in her book, that is when there is something that needs to be bought that is not local think about a couple of things: a) get as local as possible (so Florida versus New Zealand), b) focus on single ingredient items or as few as possible, since in multiple ingredient items everything must first be shipped to that producer before shipping to you, c) avoid anything to be shipped that must be refrigerated.
7) I am going to attempt to make my bread and cheese when I can't find it locally. Unfortunately, that means I have to have some ingredients that are not available locally (citric acid, rennett, lemon juice, certain flours). I decided this is still better than buying the bread or cheese at the grocery store and am willing to make those concessions.


Okay, well more things may come up as we move along, but that is it for now. Remember, don't be too hard on me!