Locally Grown Meat and DIY Play-dough

The "Buy Local" promotional sign

  This morning was a return trip to the local Farmer's Market, an easy six-block stroller walk from our present location.  GKid #1 was with mom at the library so it was Gkid #2 and I with the double stroller.  The season is really early up here so there isn't  much produce yet, some lettuce etc., but I found Romberger's booth selling grain-fed, frozen, locally grown pork and beef.  They sell from their farm but attend two local farmer's markets as well.

I selected the beef patties and Canadian Bacon and am looking forward to trying them both.  Son-in-Law has finally purchased a grill up here, so I'm expecting to have some grilled burgers soon.

Food selections from Romberger's

Everyone up here takes their sausage selection very seriously.  There were several different types of sausage to choose from here, Italian, Breakfast, and more.  I know New Orleans has lots of sausage varieties too, so how did Arkansas get left out.  Why don't we have much besides breakfast sausages indigenous to our area?  People ate plenty of pork, so why didn't they develop more varieties.  Just lack of ethnic influences I guess.  Maybe our ancestors didn't have lots of home pork recipes.  Doesn't seem possible but it could be.

There are three local CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) choices according to a brochure I picked up at the Romberger's booth (go to www.buylocal.org/northerntier)  .  In a CSA the consumer, buys a share of the farm's output during the growing season and harvest.  You share the reward and the risk, if the carrots don't do well you don't get many carrots.  If the spinach does great you get lots of spinach.  These CSAs offer a product range of organic fed chicken, turkey, eggs, lamb, beef, pastured pork, maple syrup and a wide variety of vegetables, pumpkins, gourds, local cheese, blueberries, orchard fruits, etc.  These are definitely the next best thing to growing it yourself.

Locally grown beef patties and Canadian Bacon

After the library and farmer's market runs, the Daughter and I switched kids and I set off on a quest to buy clay or play dough.  I went to check it out at the local Wmart and my choices were pathetic and expensive.  There was a $20 "Dora" choice.  A tiny $5 package, not enough to construct a self-respecting boa constrictor, and another similarly overpriced choice. Couldn't even find a generic choice. Gmother decided we would be making our own, there are lots of recipes on-line.  The local Tops  (grocery chain up here) provided flour and salt and we will use some paint to color instead of food coloring (since we have paint and don't have food coloring) and I will shop for some cheap cream of tartar, or maybe I will just use one of the recipes that doesn't call for cream of tartar.  I will let you know how that goes.

In life it is pretty much all about the choices we make and what are we willing attempt.  If we settle for expensive and boring, that is what we get.  If we get thrifty and creative we have different options.  There are things in life that give us few choices, but most of life has more choices than we think it does.  What I eat,  where it comes from, what my grandchildren play with, I have some control there.  I start where I am and work outwards.  Intentionality again, it makes life interesting.