I can hardly believe it! OLS Week 10

Well, temps in the mid 90s sure doesn't sound like the end of summer now, does it? Nonetheless, the One Local Summer challenge is winding up this week, and I'm not entirely bummed about it.

Don't get me wrong; I love eating local food, and I'm eating way more locally than I did at the beginning of the summer. This sort of commitment compounds itself--you buy local, you eat local. You garden, you eat what you grow, by gum!

The issue is more with the blogging about it, the keeping track, the pictures, the extra effort that goes along with actively raising awareness about the positive change that eating locally can bring. I'm a little burned out on the self-imposed requirement of blogging it all.

This last week I made a fantastic ratatouille* made of my canned tomatoes (no botulism! yay!), onions from Hurdle Mills, NC, an eggplant from somewhere (market), a red pepper from somewhere (market), garlic from somewhere (market), basil from the garden and olive oil and dried thyme (lost mine to the drought) from elsewhere. Ate it for dinner one night and breakfast the next morning. No picture. See what I mean? Am slacking off here.

So...as August switches into September, the Eat Local Challenge amps up. Traditionally, this is a one-month binge of nothing but local. This year, they're opening up the field a little more, and suggesting pledging at a level of commitment that best fits your lifestyle. Eat 100% locally? Go for it. Write about it. Photograph your local market or garden. Do a weekly meal like I just did. Preserve some food. Sign up for a CSA. Do what works for you.

I love that they've done this. It's way less intimidating for people just starting out, and probably more effective in the long run. Eating local foods may feel difficult, but once you start the habit, it's fun and not hard.

OK. Off to work. Am leaving tomorrow v. v. early (7 a.m. flight) so you may not hear from me. I'm considering (GASP!) even leaving my computer here??

OH, and one last thing. A new roommate has begun the move-in process. Hee!


*spellcheck suggestions: illustrator's, Prattville's and the variants of the two