Upper Valley Localvore Challenge - January 7-13, 2007

Bearing crockpots, casseroles and covered platters, Localvores from all over the Upper Valley gathered at King Arthur Flour for a mid-challenge potluck feast. All brought food grown within a 100-mile radius of home. Chunky soups and stews, scalloped potatoes and ham, blueberry-apple chutney, roasted root vegetables, Spanish tortilla, potato-carrot kugel, cornbread and butter, homemade applesauces, maple yogurt, maple-apple desserts, dropcakes with blackberry syrup and cider shakes with Strafford Creamery Smooth Maple ice cream . . . an impressive array of local foods. Susan Miller of Norwich remarked, “We’re getting good at this; everything tastes delicious!” (The first Localvore Challenge in 2005 did not allow for non-local spices; life without spices was too “hair-shirt”; for this Challenge everyone had a wild card for salt, spices, and leavening agents and the new slogan is “Eat Locally - Spice Globally!”)

Lou Anne McLeod, of Lebanon, did a “Rachel Ray” demo, making a winter salad - a tasty combo of shredded cabbage and carrots, chopped apples and Jerusalem artichokes, in a creamy homemade dressing.

Some groups raise funds through raffles of trips to Hawai or extravagant weekends in New York. Localvores raised fun as they offered door prizes of local products: popping corn from Hurricane Flats Farm and Carnival squashes from Luna Bleu Farm, S. Royalton; eggs from Kate Whybrow’s chickens and carrots from Gypsy Meadow Farm, Plainfield, NH; wheat berries from Butterworks Farm, Westfield VT; and a bottle of Vicky Day Blackberry Syrup from Cherry Hill Farm, Springfield, NH. Young Josie Hingston and her mom had been selling their Vicky Day jellies and syrups at the Winter Farmers Market in Norwich; learning about Localvores prompted them to try sweetening their homegrown blackberry concentrate with maple syrup and the three bottles Josie and her Dad brought to the potluck were the prototypes of more delicious syrup to come.

More than 50 Upper Valley folks committed to the Winter Localvore Challenge. Veterans of the previous January’s Challenge were prepared: many had frozen, canned or stored fruits and vegetables from their own gardens and from local farms. Some had dried mint, and brought in pots of parsley, chives and thyme before the first frost. A few had the good fortune of a farm-stored CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share with Luna Bleu Farm in South Royalton, which provides monthly allotments of veggies through the winter.

The biggest challenge seems to have been in families with teenagers; peer pressure and a penchant for “junk food” make it difficult for even the most clever cook. But there were successes. Mary Bender of Norwich, who was cooking for 4 children, two of them teenagers, reported: “We had a great time at the localvore potluck and we’ve enjoyed the challenge as well. Roasted rutabagas with honey were a big seller last night!” And Roberta Silveira of Lebanon, with two teenagers said, “My skeptical teenage children loved, literally raved about the Localvore cornbread. They ate the whole pan!” With time, Localvores hope to develop a repertoire of Localvore recipes that will satisfy even the most resistant teenager.
Norwich Winter Farmers Market
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The monthly Winter Farmers Market, on the first Saturday in January, offered local winter squash, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, meat, celeriac, black walnuts, and even fresh spinach from Luna Bleu’s greenhouse. Many folks stopped by at the Localvore table for samples of Localvore Buffalo Chili, Black Bean-Wheat Berry Chili and cornbread. 18 new people registered that day and many more took home recipes and information about localvores.

Upper Valley Food Co-op
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The Upper Valley Food Co-op in White River Jct. was another reliable source of locally grown food: produce through Deep Root (a cooperative of farmers based in VT), apples from Poverty Lane and Champlain Orchards, cider, dried beans, cornmeal, wheat berries, whole wheat bread flour from Great River Farm in Windsor, local yogurt, butter, eggs, cheeses, milk, meat, tempeh. Rae Richards, in the Deli, offered Localvore Specials of soup, sandwiches and baked goods all week long . . . a boon for Localvores on the run!

The Farmers Diner
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Localvores could also turn to The Farmers Diner in Queeche, which advertises “Food from Here”. Breakfast is served all day long, featuring delicious farm-fresh eggs and Vermont-grown potato homefries and there are local burgers and many specialties made with ingredients from Vermont and New Hampshire farms. (See www.farmersdiner.com for weekly specials.)

Lasting Change from the Challenge Experience
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Many veterans of past Localvore Challenges say that their eating habits have changed and that their cupboards no longer contain many pre-packaged foods. Anastasia Seyer of Enfield reported, “While the challenge is basically over, we have decided to really make a huge change in our diets based on how we have felt physically, and emotionally. We have made a list of our wildcards that we will start to incorporate back into our diets, and except the chocolate and coffee, it’s all minimally processed (like lemons, avocados, and bananas). Our goal now for maintenance is about 75% local, and going back to making our own bread, and ice cream, etc.”
Thanks to all who joined in the January Challenge! Pat M.