Twelve Days of Cooking: Day 1

Hey! As promised, here’s Thursday’s post. There will be a post every Thursday after this… but this week is special. I’m starting a series of posts called the Twelve Days of Cooking. In the twelve days leading up to Christmas, I will post every day about something that I or someone else cooked. Hopefully these posts will help you find holiday recipes and get in the holiday spirit!

            We all hear that it’s important to purchase local foods… but why? First of all, it’s much better for the environment to purchase local foods. It takes much less fuel for a vehicle full of food to travel 100 miles or less than to travel thousands of miles. By buying local, we can reduce the amount of pollution being released into the air. Secondly, the food system greatly benefits when you support local companies. Almost all local companies are relatively small, whereas a lot of the food that most Americans consume is produced far away in a massive factory with low quality ingredients. By supporting local companies, you are voting for (most likely) higher quality food and small businesses. If you want to read more about local foods, you can read a blog post of mine from about a year and a half ago about the subject! http://foodforteensbyteens.blogspot.com/2011/03/local-or-global.html

            In the fall and winter in Washington State, most people don’t buy very much local food at all. This is because a lot of people think that the only local produce we can buy is apples and pears. However, we have many more options; still not as many, but we have more than we think. As consumers, we need to learn what the growing seasons of the region we live in are. While the supermarket doesn’t necessarily follow the seasons, nature still does. If you buy something that isn’t in season, then it definitely isn’t local. Take a look at the following chart of Pacific Northwest growing seasons. Keep in mind that fruits and vegetables that grow until November can be stored and sold through December. If you don’t live in the Pacific Northwest, I’m sure you can find a growing seasons chart for the area you live in. http://www.jessiebunning.com/2011/10/04/pacific-northwest-growing-chart/

            I found a recipe on Food Network last night that gives you an opportunity to cook with local ingredients for the holidays. It’s an Anne Burrell recipe for roasted vegetables. The squash and mushrooms are the two locally grown ingredients you need. While this recipe also uses non-local ingredients, it uses some, which is a start. See if you can find a recipe (on Food Network or elsewhere) that uses almost all local, seasonal ingredients! If you do, I encourage you to comment on this post, email me or tweet me the link. My contact information is on the right-hand side of the site. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/roasted-kabocha-squash-haricots-verts-mushrooms-and-pepitas-recipe/index.html

            Please follow this blog, subscribe to my YouTube channel, follow me on Twitter and email me! I want to expand my network of followers, so I’d really appreciate it if you’d support me and tell your friends. I also want to open up some conversation in the comments of this post. Comment your favorite local foods, favorite holiday recipes, ask questions, tell me what to post in the upcoming Twelve Days of Cooking posts, etc. I will definitely respond to anything you post. Be sure to come back here tomorrow for Day 2 of the Twelve Days of Cooking! Stay healthy!