Information and resources for eating only food locally produced in Whatcom County
Category : Beverages, March, Recipes, Wildcrafting
So now you’ve gone out and foraged some stinging nettles, and you know how to handle them comfortably. How do you cook them? Easiest place to start is making tea. Nettles tea is very healthy and will give you a good opportunity to see what nettles taste like. I thought it might taste kind of “green” but it’s got a sweet note that makes it very pleasant. The color is simply spectacular. Continue Reading
Category : About Food Sources, April, March, Wildcrafting
For many people, stinging nettles (Urtica dioica and the closely related Urtica urens) conjure up images of nasty burning sensations caused by brushing against the nearly invisible spines on the leaves of an otherwise lovely green plant. Nettles grow wild in damp, shady woods, and can reach several feet high.
Nettles’ sting comes from sharp silicate-bearing, hair-like structures on the leaves that actually shoot irritating substances into your skin like a hypodermic needle. Unlike plants which cause reactions for only some people, nettle stings affect virtually everyone who touches them.
So why not just avoid nettles altogether? Continue Reading
Category : About Food Sources, April, Bellingham, Farmers' Markets, Main Dishes, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetarian
Most of the ingredients in this dish, except the butter, were items purchased at the Bellingham Farmers Market from Whatcom County farm vendors on opening day (April 7, 2012). Even this early in the spring, local farmers have an amazing array of vegetables and other foods from which to choose. Continue ReadingCategory : About Food Sources, April, Bellingham, Farmers' Markets, Where to Buy Local Food
As I walked toward the Bellingham Farmers Market last Saturday on opening day, the background music started to swell. Was this the climactic scene in my own in-my-head local foods movie? It felt like it, but then I caught sight of the band playing gypsy music and snapped back to reality. The music was real, lively, and fun, and a big circle of people had gathered in the middle of Railroad St. to listen. One wiggly, loose-limbed fellow was displaying his dance moves, and kids were watching with rapt (and painted) faces. Besides that, the sun was out! The Market was definitely off to a running start! Continue Reading
Category : About Food Sources, CSAs, Whatcom Locavore Basics, Where to Buy Local Food
This list of farms offering Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs was taken from the 2012 Whatcom Food & Farm Finder by permission of the publisher, Sustainable Connections. Wherever possible, the Farm Name is linked to their website for more information. Learn more about what a CSA is and how it works. Continue Reading
Category : About Food Sources, CSAs, Whatcom Locavore Basics, Where to Buy Local Food
Photo by Fir0002
If you read these articles frequently (and may you and your descendants be blessed forever if you do!), you’ve probably seen me mention Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs. If you want to start improving the quality of food you eat by buying locally grown ingredients, CSAs are the single easiest way to begin–and to save money! Continue Reading
Category : CSAs, Whatcom Locavore Basics
Locavores are people who eat only locally grown food as much as possible. Personally, I try to eat only food grown in Whatcom County.
If you want to give it a try, here are some things I’ve learned over the past two years that may help you get started. Continue Reading
By Southern Foodways Alliance
Are you interested in trying your hand at raising some food in a home garden? Cloud Mountain Farm has created a workshop just for you called “Grow Your Own – the Locavore’s Garden.” Here’s the class description from their website: “Vegetable gardening is more than planting seeds. Learn how to successfully grow a wide variety of produce throughout the year, including how to get started, planning your plantings, managing your soil and fertility inputs, and timing for succession harvests.” Continue Reading
Category : About Food Sources, CSAs, Home Delivery, Where to Buy Local Food
Last week Acme Farms + Kitchen (AF+K) announced they will soon be opening a storefront location in downtown Bellingham. Along with the location will come some new services. Continue Reading
Sustainable Connections is a nationally-lauded local organization with a dedicated Food and Farming Program. A key part of the Program is an annual publication called the Whatcom Food & Farm Finder, and it’s one of the single most useful tools available for anyone interesting in eating local food. The booklet includes a comprehensive directory of farms, farm stands, u-picks, ranchers and fishers who produce food in Whatcom County. It also lists farm events, some basic guidelines about farming practices each farm uses (such as organic, salmon safe, etc.), and primary products grown, all keyed to a County map for easy locating. The Finder also lists restaurants, cafes, caterers, and grocers who support local agriculture.
On April 7 at the Bellingham Farmers Market opening, the brand new 2012 Whatcom Food & Farm Finder will be unveiled. You can pick up your free copy at the Sustainable Connections booth.
After that, find copies at the Community Food Co-op stores, libraries, and other retail locations.
When the Farmers Market opens, I feel like I start to breathe deeply again. Winter eating went pretty well this year because I had prepared for it by canning, pickling, freezing, drying, and fermenting local foods to preserve them. Acme Farms + Kitchen also helped ease our family over the locavore “hunger gap” between the late fall harvest and the first spring market.
That said, I’m ready for the return of a little more variety in our fresh ingredients besides kale, carrots, and potatoes (though I love them all). The opening of the Farmers Market each spring brings the promise of the lavish diversity of summer food coming soon! Continue Reading
Category : About Food Sources, Bellingham, Book and Movie Reviews, Farmers' Markets
Photo by William Warby
For the past decade, US media has carried reports of declining honeybee populations and the impending doom it could mean for food production. I’d seen depressing stories about colony collapse disorder (CCD) where whole hives of bees inexplicably disappear, so it was with some trepidation that I picked up Beekeeper’s Lament by Hannah Nordhaus from the library. However, I wanted to know exactly was happening with our fuzzy little friends. Continue Reading
Category : About Food Sources, Book and Movie Reviews, Grow Your Own
Gardening books interest me, but don’t usually excite me, though I’ve probably enjoyed nearly as many hours reading about gardening as doing it. Recently, though, I came across a book which casts gardening in a whole new perspective. The Resilient Gardener: Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times by Carol Deppe (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2010) is nothing short of paradigm changing. Continue Reading
