Local Food

When I traveled to Decorah earlier this year, I visited the Oneota Co-op Grocery Store and was in total amazement by the variety of products, the fair prices, and the number of people shopping in there. So, when I read this, I was really encouraged that people in the main stream might be "getting it."

We've been trying to pull our weight at Gracious Acres, too. Many of our meals feature at least one local food. We're so lucky to have Sugar Creek Farm beef and chicken - - yum! We had a roast the other night and then used the left overs to make a hearty beef and (thick) egg noodle dish. So satisfying on a cold, rainy fall evening. I also dug up the last row of potatoes (Red Norlands or Pontiacs, can't remember) and got another five-gallon pail to use over the next couple months; hopefully they keep. We shredded potatoes a couple months ago and they're in the freezer now. We have homemade pickles at almost every meal, and we still have a few garden tomatoes (from my mom).

We can usually get three to four meals off of one of SCF's chickens. I roast it all day at 275, so it's super tender and juicy. The meat on one breast will usually feed all three of us! Then, I make a casserole, quesadillas, and a noodle dish with the left overs. I totally can't throw anything away!

Local. Food. Good!