Practicality

One of the things that should be mentioned, is that while we try and eat local, we're not completely zealous about it, nor are we always consistent. For instance, yesterday's meal was meatloaf, rice, green beans and beets. Now, while the beef, green beans and beets were local, the rice certainly wasn't (it's from California, which, as my wife pointed out, is better than from somewhere in Asia, but it still had to travel a long distance, and was farmed in who-knows-what kind of conditions by who-knows-whom).

We actually tried going completely local for a short while for starches, but we rapidly got tired of potatoes, and making our own pasta all the time is too much work with three little ones around (ok - those of you over the age of 70 that read this, yes - I know - we're wimps :). And our reasons for eating local are partially environmental, but they are also community (I *like* knowing the people that grow or produce our food) and health related (I like being able to know and ask what went into the growing and raising of our food, and, perhaps more importantly, what didn't).  Besides, local food just plain tastes better - it hasn't been sitting in some warehouse, and it wasn't picked before it was fully ripe, and it isn't always the exact same 1-2 varieties of whatever tomato, pepper, zucchini, or whatever.

So, if we have to make some exceptions sometimes, we're fine with that. If all else fails, we can use the excuse that we want our children to have as many gastonomic experiences as we can, and if that means that occasionally we fall off of the local bandwagon, then so be it.

With that said:

Meatloaf:
(Recipe forthcoming)