The Event + Conclusion

The main part of our experiment is over. For six hours on tuesday, Jess and I cooked the local organic produce we obtained at Ferry Building, Berkeley, and Oakland Jack London Farmer's Markets. The items that couldn't be obtained directly from the farmer were purchased at local shop Farmer Joe's in Oakland. [www.farmerjoesmarket.com]

If you didnt get a chance to pick up the locavore pledge card at the opening. Just remember when shopping:

If not LOCALLY PRODUCED, then Organic.

If not ORGANIC, then Family farm.

If not FAMILY FARM, then Local business.

If not a LOCAL BUSINESS, then Fair Trade.


The purpose was to make people aware of their local food options to help escape our crazy 1500 mile system, not to have a rigid ideology and finger waging if you don't purchase everything locally. So...Be Aware of what you are buying and ask questions.


I have to admit that the food preparation was quite exhausting. During our kitchen test, we had five people doing the cooking instead of two of us in a much smaller kitchen. Plus this time we didn't have the pleasure of relaxing between meals, sipping wine, and chatting.

I had one magickal food moment that I'll remember for the rest of my life. I'm not a raw carrot person. I like mine steamed or shreded raw into salads. I admit that if i find a big chunk of carrot to eat, I'm normally smothering it in a bowl of ranch dressing. Anyway, Jess was shredding carrots for our lettuce wraps. She kept having little stubs because it was too difficult to get the last ends of the carrot without shredding her fingers. She turned to me and was like you need to try this now. Hesitantly I did. And it was the most delicious carrot I have ever eaten! So sweet and watery. From now on I'll be comparing all my carrot purchases to this one bought from Happy Boy Farms [http://happyboyfarms.org/market/live-oak/]


At 4pm, we realized that we needed to head over to the school for the opening. So we loaded the car up with food still hot from the oven and rushed on over. Our arrival was timed perfect. The only thing I regret not having time for was to put up all our recipes and vendor info. But that gave me and Jess a chance to talk with people one on one about what was in the food and where things came from. Plus below I'll be giving recipes,costs, and vendor info


The response from people was amazing! I had one woman tell me that she has been buying local organic for years now but her relatives think she is crazy. She was happy to see that other people are doing this more and felt validated by her decisions. And Andree was right, quotes do stick in the mind of the viewer. I had a few folks that were jaw-droppingly shocked about the quote on strawberries The reality of our inport/export system just didnt make sense to them. and finally the insanity of our system sunk in. And that made the whole project worth while.




Now for the recipe ingredients.



Fava Bean Puree:



2 lbs fava beans shelled
[you'll need to buy 5 lbs in the shells in order to end up with 2lbs]
Purchased from Eatwell Farms for $7.00 [www.eatwell.com]
~ 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Purchased 750mL House Blend for $18.00
StoneHouse Olive Oil [www.stonehouseoliveoil.com]

Lemon Juice [ 1 lemon]
Purchased from Twin Girls Farms 13 lemons for $6.00
http://www.pacorg.com/pages/twingirls.html

Salt to taste

Herbs to Taste
we used Tarragon from the garden


Greek Spinach Rice Balls:


2 pounds fresh spinach:
we did a double recipe 4 lbs for $6.50
Happy Boy Farms
[http://happyboyfarms.org/market/live-oak/]
1 cup chopped scallions:
2 bunchs for $5.00
Dirty Girl Produce
http://dirtygirlproduce.com/

2 teaspoons olive oil
Stonehouse [see above]

2 cups cooked rice
2 lb bag for $4.00
Massa Organics [http://www.massaorganics.com/]

2 Tablespoons finely chopped Dill
Bunch for $1.25
Happy Boy Farms [see above]

Juice from 1 Lemon
Twin Girls Farms [see above]

Feta Cheese
Spring Hill Cheese Co. $6.00
[www.springhillcheese.com]


Bread Crumbs [for rolling balls]
Used Morell's Local Loaf [he used Full Belly Farm Wheat] $6.00 a loaf
www.morellsbread.com + www.fullbellyfarm.com

Salt and Black Pepper to Taste





Crispy Lettuce Rolls w/ Orange Dressing



Inside Mix:

Grated Carrots $5 for ~ 2 lbs
Happy Boy Farms [see above!]

2 Green Scallions
Dirty Girl Produce [see above]

5 Avacados chopped
Brokaw Farms 5 for $6.25
[http://www.willsavocados.com/]

Bunch of Celery [finely chopped]
$1.69 bunch from Farmer Joes [see above]

2 packages Sprouts [we used daikon]
$1.69 bunch from Farmer Joes [see above]

1 Red Pepper
$2.40 from Farmer Joes [see above]

Fresh Mint [to taste]
2 bunchs for $3.00
Happy Boy Farms [see above]

Lettuce to wrap mix
3 bunchs of Romaine Lettuce $1.69 per bunch
Farmer Joes [see above]


Orange Dressing:

3 Oranges [ 10 lbs for $10]
Twin Girl Farms [see above]

1 cup olive oil
StoneHouse [see above]

1/2 cup honey [ donated]
Sparky Beegirl
http://www.sparkybeegirl.com/iuh.html

1/8th teaspoon salt




Garlic Toasts:



1 Loaf of Morell's Bread [see above]

Two bunchs of spring Garlic [chopped finely]
Dirty Girl Produce [see above] $3.50

~1cup olive oil
StoneHouse [see above]




Frittata: We made three

Each consisted of:

8 Organic Free Range Eggs
[From my chickens: Poppy, Buffy, Mary, and Layenna. Thanks Girls!]


2/3 bunch of chopped Asparagus
Ceccini + Ceccini Farms, Brentwood CA [4 bunchs for $10]

2 Scallions
Dirty Girl Produce [see above]

either a few sprigs of oregano or rosemary
From my garden

2/3 cup Milk
Strauss Dairy $4.99/ 2 Quart
http://www.strausfamilycreamery.com/

Butter for sauteeing Scallions and Asparagus
Strauss Creamery $6.79

2 Cups of Cheese[ one mixed in and one on top]

either
Old Portuguese $6.00
Spring Hill Cheese Co[see above]
or
Pt Reyes Blue Cheese $5.00
http://www.pointreyescheese.com/html/index.html

plus salt and pepper




Grilled Asparagus:

we made 2 bunchs sauteed in leftover orange dressing from Lettuce Wraps
[see above]



BIG THANKS For Chris and Rob[manager] of Buffalo Whole Foods in San Francisco for Donating Boxes of fresh Strawberries and Sugar Snap Peas




Buffalo Whole Foods
598 Castro Street
SF, CA
http://buffalowholefoods.com/

Fresh Strawberries[ Beach Street Farms]
http://www.beachstreet.com/

Fresh Sugar Snap Peas
Comanche Creek Farms




Fresh Whipped Cream for dipping
Pint of Strauss $4.94
[see above]


Fruit Flavored Water:
Filtered Water plus
Orange + Lemon Slices[ Twin Girls Farms]
Mint [Happy Boy]
White Guava[ Brokaw] $2.49


Total Reception Cost Breakdown:
Celery $1.69
Sprouts $3.38
Lettuce $5.07
Whipping Cream $4.94
Milk $4.99
Butter $6.79
Red Pepper $2.40
Garlic $3.50
Fava Beans $7.00
Olive Oil $18.00
Bread [5 loaves] $30.00
Lemons $6.00
Oranges $10.00
Brown Rice $4.00
Scallions $5.00
Avocados $6.25
Blue Cheese $5.00
Feta Cheese $6.00
Portuguese Cheese $6.00
Asparagus $10.00
Mint $3.00
White Guava $2.49
Dill $1.25
Carrots $5.00
Spinach $6.50

Total $162.56 Not bad for an all organic and local reception