{"id":3733,"date":"2008-10-15T08:31:33","date_gmt":"2008-10-15T14:31:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=3733"},"modified":"2008-10-15T08:31:33","modified_gmt":"2008-10-15T14:31:33","slug":"stock-up-on-sustainability-five-tips-to-shop-the-final-farmers-market-and-eat-local-all-winter-recipe-included","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/stock-up-on-sustainability-five-tips-to-shop-the-final-farmers-market-and-eat-local-all-winter-recipe-included\/","title":{"rendered":"Stock Up On Sustainability: Five Tips to Shop the Final Farmers Market and Eat Local All Winter (Recipe Included)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The sustainability mantra may be \u201cless is more,\u201d but there\u2019s one exception when buying more makes green sense: shopping the last farmers’ markets. If you\u2019re not gardening and growing your own produce, your local farmers’ market serves as your easy connection to one-stop local fare shopping.<\/p>\n

But as frosts linger and the cold winds start to blow, don\u2019t punt and think your fresh local bounty will disappear till spring. With a little strategic shopping and planning, you can preserve a local meal focus all winter long by taking advantage of those last farmer\u2019s markets.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s another perk of eating local year round: you\u2019re supporting the economic health of your community. Just ask Cindy Torres, manager of the Longmont Farmers’ Market<\/a> outside Boulder, Colorado, and a Food and Society Policy Fellow<\/a>. Passionate about using local food systems as a healthy economic development tool, Torres co-founded the Boulder County Food and Agriculture Policy Council to look at how her area can increase the local food supply to enhance the lives of community residents of all economic backgrounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith a little bit of planning and preparation, we can readily eat local till the spring markets start up again,\u201d explains Torres. Here are her favorite five tips:
\n<\/p>\n

1. Identify Your Needs<\/strong>
\nA simple but important first step, think about what it is you like to eat and use the most of and prioritize stocking up on those items. \u201cThere\u2019s no point in buying something and never eating it,\u201d Torres adds. Think potatoes, for example, as these are a basic staple in most family\u2019s kitchen and easily store into the winter.<\/p>\n

2. Assess Your Storage<\/strong>
\n\u201cTake a look at what type of storage you have available at home since this will determine what and how much you should buy,\u201d advises Torres. A basic dark basement that can keep relatively dry can serve as ideal storage for root crops through the spring. Storing potatoes in double brown grocery bags works well.
\n
\n3. Think Dehydration<\/strong>
\nLimited on storage space? Try dehydrating as a space efficient food preservation technique. \u201cDehydrating also works great for stocking up on herbs,\u201d adds Torres.
\n
\n4. Gather Farmer Advice<\/strong>
\n\u201cAsk the farmers at your market what varietals work best for storage,\u201d Torres recommends. \u201cSome tomatoes, for example, are better for canning while others are meant to be eaten fresh.\u201d<\/p>\n

5. Cook Up Winter Creativity<\/strong>
\nAfter you squirrel away your winter booty, use the slower winter months to experiment with new ways to prepare and use your veggies. \u201cIt\u2019s a mistake to stick to just the traditional way of preparing something,\u201d advises Torres. \u201cExperiment with a new twist on an old favorite. For example, try pureeing vegetables such as cauliflower or turnips for a creamy soup base.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore than just food on your plate, eating local year round connects you directly to the economic health of your community,\u201d sums up Torres. \u201cSupporting local agriculture goes beyond just food, it helps increase social justice by creating a food system that is fair and accessible to all.\u201d<\/p>\n

That community spirit thrives at the Longmont Farmers Market. \u201cWe\u2019re very fortunate to have Deb Taylor, locally known as \u201cChef Deb,\u201d volunteer to do cooking demonstrations, demos and samples to help our market community discover new ideas for eating locall,\u201d adds Torres. Read more from Chef Deb on her blog at www.TheTastyBits.blogspot.com<\/a>
\nHere\u2019s one of Chef Deb\u2019s seasonal favorite recipes: Butternut Squash and Fennel Gratin:<\/p>\n

Recipe: Butternut Squash and Fennel Gratin<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe minute we feel the first chill in the air we immediately begin to think in terms of fall foods: Simmering soups and stews, slow braised meats and vegetables, breads and muffins made with apples, pumpkins, cinnamon and cloves,\u201d Chef Deb explains. \u201cIn France, simple ingredients cooked this way are called “gratins”, not to be confused with the cheese laden, American version of \u2018au gratin.\u2019 The beauty of this recipe is you could easily layer
\nthis with saut\u00e9ed greens, or add fresh lasagna noodles in the layers, some fried sage leaves, and use local goat cheese on top, all baked and bubbly. Pure autumn nirvana.\u201d<\/p>\n

Serves:
\n4 as a Main course
\n6-8 as a side dish<\/p>\n

2-2 1\/2 pounds Butternut Squash, peeled*, seeded**, sliced thinly
\n3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
\n2 small bulbs fennel, cored, stalks removed, thinly sliced (save the fennel fronds)
\n1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced
\n1 clove garlic
\n1 pinch of fresh grated nutmeg
\n1\/2-cup half and half
\n1\/2-cup heavy cream
\n3-4 ounces grated hard local cheese (or gruyere, parmesan, pecorino)
\nSea or kosher salt
\nFresh Ground pepper<\/p>\n

Preheat the oven to 350\u00b0 Butter or oil a 9 x 13 inch casserole pan.<\/p>\n

Place a medium sized skillet over medium-low heat, next add olive oil and sweat (meaning lower heat and no color on your vegetables, you just want them to release their natural juices) the fennel and onions until both are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Next add nutmeg, cream, half and half, 2 teaspoons sea salt and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat.<\/p>\n

Chop a few tablespoons of the fennel fronds.<\/p>\n

Place half of butternut squash in the bottom of the casserole; top with half the fennel\/onion mixture, some fennel fronds, and lightly salt and pepper. Repeat, ending with all the cream and fronds. Salt and pepper again. The cream will not cover all the squash, but it will bubble up while it cooks.<\/p>\n

Cover casserole with foil and place on a sheet pat in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, top with grated cheese and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, before eating. Enjoy with a crisp green salad topped with toasted seeds and light vinaigrette.<\/p>\n

*Squash peels easier with a swivel \u201cy\u201d peeler.
\n**Seeds can be roasted too: toss seeds with olive oil, salt and pepper and place them on a small pan. Roast in the over (while gratin is baking) for 7-10 minutes, or until they begin to be fragrant, and turn light to golden brown. Taste, and add more salt if needed. These can be used in a salad accompanying the Butternut Squash and Fennel Gratin.<\/p>\n

Related Posts:
\nChicks for Change: Four Way Women Can Instigate an Agricultural Revolution<\/a>
\nA True Campaign for Change: Five Tips to Stir Up the Local Foods Movement in Your Community<\/a>
\nWinter Squash<\/a>
\nPhoto credit: Longmont Farmers’ Market<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The sustainability mantra may be \u201cless is more,\u201d but there\u2019s one exception when buying more makes green sense: shopping the last farmers’ markets. If you\u2019re not gardening and growing your [ … ]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":3734,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,13],"tags":[257,1899,1900,1901],"yoast_head":"\nStock Up On Sustainability: Five Tips to Shop the Final Farmers Market and Eat Local All Winter (Recipe Included) • Sustainablog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/stock-up-on-sustainability-five-tips-to-shop-the-final-farmers-market-and-eat-local-all-winter-recipe-included\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stock Up On Sustainability: Five Tips to Shop the Final Farmers Market and Eat Local All Winter (Recipe Included) • Sustainablog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The sustainability mantra may be \u201cless is more,\u201d but there\u2019s one exception when buying more makes green sense: shopping the last farmers’ markets. If you\u2019re not gardening and growing your [ … ]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/stock-up-on-sustainability-five-tips-to-shop-the-final-farmers-market-and-eat-local-all-winter-recipe-included\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sustainablog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-10-15T14:31:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"lisakivirist\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"lisakivirist\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/stock-up-on-sustainability-five-tips-to-shop-the-final-farmers-market-and-eat-local-all-winter-recipe-included\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/stock-up-on-sustainability-five-tips-to-shop-the-final-farmers-market-and-eat-local-all-winter-recipe-included\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"lisakivirist\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/d1e2494bb1934b4d19c98e11c1d8244b\"},\"headline\":\"Stock Up On Sustainability: Five Tips to Shop the Final Farmers Market and Eat Local All Winter (Recipe Included)\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-10-15T14:31:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2008-10-15T14:31:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/stock-up-on-sustainability-five-tips-to-shop-the-final-farmers-market-and-eat-local-all-winter-recipe-included\/\"},\"wordCount\":1081,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"colorado\",\"farmers market\",\"longmont farmers market\",\"squash\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Culture\",\"Sustainability\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/stock-up-on-sustainability-five-tips-to-shop-the-final-farmers-market-and-eat-local-all-winter-recipe-included\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/stock-up-on-sustainability-five-tips-to-shop-the-final-farmers-market-and-eat-local-all-winter-recipe-included\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/stock-up-on-sustainability-five-tips-to-shop-the-final-farmers-market-and-eat-local-all-winter-recipe-included\/\",\"name\":\"Stock Up On Sustainability: Five Tips to Shop the Final Farmers Market and Eat Local All Winter (Recipe Included) • Sustainablog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2008-10-15T14:31:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2008-10-15T14:31:33+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/stock-up-on-sustainability-five-tips-to-shop-the-final-farmers-market-and-eat-local-all-winter-recipe-included\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/stock-up-on-sustainability-five-tips-to-shop-the-final-farmers-market-and-eat-local-all-winter-recipe-included\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/stock-up-on-sustainability-five-tips-to-shop-the-final-farmers-market-and-eat-local-all-winter-recipe-included\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Stock Up On Sustainability: Five Tips to Shop the Final Farmers Market and Eat Local All Winter (Recipe Included)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/\",\"name\":\"Sustainablog\",\"description\":\"Since 2003, Sustainablog has been one of the pioneers of sustainability news online.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Sustainablog\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/cropped-sblog-logo_3b.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/cropped-sblog-logo_3b.jpg\",\"width\":200,\"height\":142,\"caption\":\"Sustainablog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/d1e2494bb1934b4d19c98e11c1d8244b\",\"name\":\"lisakivirist\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f26d96e121c8deefe4637047f950e952?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f26d96e121c8deefe4637047f950e952?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"lisakivirist\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/author\/lisakivirist\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Stock Up On Sustainability: Five Tips to Shop the Final Farmers Market and Eat Local All Winter (Recipe Included) • Sustainablog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/stock-up-on-sustainability-five-tips-to-shop-the-final-farmers-market-and-eat-local-all-winter-recipe-included\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Stock Up On Sustainability: Five Tips to Shop the Final Farmers Market and Eat Local All Winter (Recipe Included) • Sustainablog","og_description":"The sustainability mantra may be \u201cless is more,\u201d but there\u2019s one exception when buying more makes green sense: shopping the last farmers’ markets. If you\u2019re not gardening and growing your [ … ]","og_url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/stock-up-on-sustainability-five-tips-to-shop-the-final-farmers-market-and-eat-local-all-winter-recipe-included\/","og_site_name":"Sustainablog","article_published_time":"2008-10-15T14:31:33+00:00","author":"lisakivirist","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"lisakivirist","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/stock-up-on-sustainability-five-tips-to-shop-the-final-farmers-market-and-eat-local-all-winter-recipe-included\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/stock-up-on-sustainability-five-tips-to-shop-the-final-farmers-market-and-eat-local-all-winter-recipe-included\/"},"author":{"name":"lisakivirist","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/d1e2494bb1934b4d19c98e11c1d8244b"},"headline":"Stock Up On Sustainability: Five Tips to Shop the Final Farmers Market and Eat Local All Winter (Recipe Included)","datePublished":"2008-10-15T14:31:33+00:00","dateModified":"2008-10-15T14:31:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/stock-up-on-sustainability-five-tips-to-shop-the-final-farmers-market-and-eat-local-all-winter-recipe-included\/"},"wordCount":1081,"commentCount":2,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization"},"keywords":["colorado","farmers market","longmont farmers market","squash"],"articleSection":["Culture","Sustainability"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/stock-up-on-sustainability-five-tips-to-shop-the-final-farmers-market-and-eat-local-all-winter-recipe-included\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/stock-up-on-sustainability-five-tips-to-shop-the-final-farmers-market-and-eat-local-all-winter-recipe-included\/","url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/stock-up-on-sustainability-five-tips-to-shop-the-final-farmers-market-and-eat-local-all-winter-recipe-included\/","name":"Stock Up On Sustainability: Five Tips to Shop the Final Farmers Market and Eat Local All Winter (Recipe Included) • Sustainablog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2008-10-15T14:31:33+00:00","dateModified":"2008-10-15T14:31:33+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/stock-up-on-sustainability-five-tips-to-shop-the-final-farmers-market-and-eat-local-all-winter-recipe-included\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/stock-up-on-sustainability-five-tips-to-shop-the-final-farmers-market-and-eat-local-all-winter-recipe-included\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/stock-up-on-sustainability-five-tips-to-shop-the-final-farmers-market-and-eat-local-all-winter-recipe-included\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Stock Up On Sustainability: Five Tips to Shop the Final Farmers Market and Eat Local All Winter (Recipe Included)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/","name":"Sustainablog","description":"Since 2003, Sustainablog has been one of the pioneers of sustainability news online.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization","name":"Sustainablog","url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/cropped-sblog-logo_3b.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/cropped-sblog-logo_3b.jpg","width":200,"height":142,"caption":"Sustainablog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/d1e2494bb1934b4d19c98e11c1d8244b","name":"lisakivirist","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f26d96e121c8deefe4637047f950e952?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f26d96e121c8deefe4637047f950e952?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"lisakivirist"},"url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/author\/lisakivirist\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3733"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3733"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3733\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}