Step 1

Step 1 in the words of Special Agent Oso (I love that cute cuddly teddy bear)

Buy vegetables that taste good.

Have you ever had a tomato out of a garden in the middle of the summer? And a tomato from the grocery store in the middle of winter? BIG DIFFERENCE! And that difference is season and travel time. Those grocery store tomatoes in the middle of winter have traveled a very very long time to reach you (unless you live in a warm climate). The tomato has been breed to travel long distances without damage. This need to have tomatoes in the winter has come at a cost...taste. I think the tomato is the most obvious example of my point. But it applies to almost all vegetables (ok, I know a tomato is not a vegetable, but work with me on this).

After you begin to buy your vegetables in season, you'll be able to taste the difference. Go to the farmer's market. Buy the vegetables that are local. On top of getting better taste, you'll also be supporting your local economy.

Oh believe me, there are many times I want asparagus in the fall when I see it in the grocery store (especially when it is on sale). But I need to remind myself that it won't taste like the spring time asparagus. So this time of year, I buy asparagus every time I go to the grocery store. By the time the season has past, I'll have had my fill of asparagus and I'll be ready to move on to the next season - zucchini (zucchini bread, grilled zucchini, zucchini crumble (my husband's favorite dessert)).

One of the easiest ways to get local and eat seasonally is to join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)...check out the next blog entry for information on CSA.