Things I can't wait to eat:

Seafood- I had salmon for the first time at a wedding this weekend, and I totally remembered how much I like fish! Sure, there's local lake fish around, but with the husband allergic it's a lot of effort & expense to get it now. Although, the absolute best fish I ever had was on a boat coming back from the Skelligs in Ireland- it'd been swimming around 20mins before it was grilled on the boat. Now that's local!

Pasta- with parmesan cheese (we can get the cheese locally but it's pretty cost prohibitive). Mmmmm. I dream about this sometimes. We did make a giant batch of sauce and had some with spaghetti squash, but it isn't the same.

Fluffy bread- we just can't make it like the bakeries do, and while we have gotten the 100 mile loaf from Golden Harvest, it's just too expensive to buy it weekly. City Cafe's sourdough is calling my name!

Not planning every meal over a week in advance. Yeah, that'd be nice! Also looking forward to being able to follow a recipe without making substitutions for non-local ingredients.

Ok, so the above sounds like once thanksgiving comes around we're going to be going back to normal which isn't our plan. I'd just be nice to be able to choose quality non-local ingredients from time to time. I have to say that after concentrating on everything we eat for the last 12 or so weeks I don't think mindless eating will be possible (for some reason, fast food ads have been grossing me out which isn't a bad thing), but man- a banana would be really good!

Trying new things is part of what this is all about!

Like tomatillos. To be honest, until a couple of weeks ago I'd never even heard of them, but when they showed up as an option to order from Bailey's after a friend mentioned them when we were camping, I figured they'd be worth a try.

So today I made Salsa Verde to bring to my book club tonight. You can find the recipe here. So yummy! Even my husband who despises cilantro gave it the green light! (pun completely intended). I did have to get non-local tortilla chips to go with it, but the tomatillos, cilantro, jalapenos, and onions were local. I omitted some of the sweetner, and threw in a (local) red pepper I'd roasted along with the tomatillos. I think it worked out ok. Guess we'll see what the gals at book club think tonight!

The seasons, they are a changing...

One of the things I like most about this journey of seasonal 100-mile eating definitely has to be the transitions. From strawberries (yum!), garlic scapes (yuck), and asparagus at the beginning, on to lettuce and peaches, we're now getting clear signs that autumn is just around the corner.

Squash, apples, and pumpkins are now making an appearance, along with tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber and corn. I have to say- is there anything that says the end of summer more than sliced tomatoes and cucumber on the dinner table? A little salt and voila! August is here.

With the beautiful weather we're having now, I can't say I'm quite ready for my apple, sweet potato and squash soup, but this weekend does involve making a GIANT batch of tomato sauce, as well as some zucchini muffins. I think in a couple of weeks when it gets cooler I'll break out the soup recipes. I already have lots of borscht and leek soup in the freezer, but fall does also call for some heartier fare.

I can't believe how quickly time flies! Just over a month to go of the challenge, and thanksgiving will be here before we know it. I'm already planning our end of challenge feast: I'm thinking turkey with stuffing, candied sweet potatoes (with maple syrup), mashed potatoes, roast carrots, green beans, maybe? and of course some pumpkin pie! I've already found a recipe for the pastry which calls for a mix of butter & oil instead of the shortening I usually use. Mmmmm, this is going to be a yummy fall!