Day 2 Results - Clear, with Rain in the Evening

How'd we do on Day 2?

Breakfast

For breakfast I made cheese omelets. This time the eggs were all local (from Bear Creek Farm & Ranch in Palmer), as was the colby cheese (from Ropp Jersey Cheese in Normal). We finished things off with a few strawberries from our garden, while our son Lando had a smoothie made with local strawberries (from Livesprings Berries & Produce in Chandlerville), but with non-local bananas, yogurt, and apple juice.

Lunch

For lunch we had macaroni & cheese and a salad. The macaroni was non-local, but the cheese was local colby cheese (from Ropp Jersey Cheese in Normal). The salad was the same as yesterday: mesclun mix, waldmans dark green lettuce, cherry belle radish (all from Oak Tree Organics in Ashland), and colby cheese (from Ropp Jersey Cheese in Normal), with non-local dressing. For dessert we had a bit of non-local kettle corn from yesterday's Highland Games.

Dinner

For dinner... well, for dinner we pretty much struck out in terms of eating local. We'd already had pasta and salad for lunch, and that was about all we had available that was local, given that it's so early in the season. I settled for non-local soup and crackers with a peanut butter & honey sandwich. The only local part of my dinner was the honey, which was in a honey bear from Mackinaw Valley Apiaries (in Mackinaw, IL), but may well have been from a refill from Sasse's Apiary (in Chestnut, IL). Everything else was non-local, even the bread. We do have a little bit of challah bread left, but I'm saving that for tomorrow's lunch!

Desperately Seeking Local Pasta

Finding a source of local pasta is something we weren't able to do last year. There is Oakland Noodle Company (in Oakland, IL), but noodles and pasta aren't exactly the same thing. We're big fans of pasta, so at the moment we're compromising, settling for non-local pasta with local sauces. We'll keep looking for a better solution, however. If you know of any sources, please share!

Comments

[Jennifer]

Do you want to try and make your own pasta? It is fun :) I just use eggs, water, and wheat flour. It is funny that I came across your blog. Our family is new to eating in this area. We recently moved from Maine here, and are on the hunt for great farms.

Take care!

~ locavore from Manteno, IL

[Wally Hartshorn]

Hi, Jennifer! Welcome to the area!

I've had a couple of people suggest that we make our own pasta. How much work is that? We might give it a try, as a friend of ours says she already has a pasta maker.

I have a feeling my 5-year-old son might object, since the pasta we make won't be the right shape. Young kids can be very particular about what food is supposed to look like! A few weeks ago Dawn made Rice Crispy treats herself, rather than buying the pre-made bars. Lando wouldn't eat the ones Dawn had made, because they didn't look exactly like the bars he was used to! :-)

Then again, the fun of making pasta might overcome his concerns about food being the right shape. We'll see!

[Jennifer]

It is not that much work ~ considering :) I think it is fun. My four year old is picky on foods like that too. Helping out makes my daugher more willing to try things. He could use a pizza cutter, or there is cutter that makes wavy shapes (I think I saw one in the cake decorating department) My daughter made heart shaped ravioli using a cookie cutter :)

[Wally Hartshorn]

We might try it. However, we just located a source for locally made pasta (Pasta Alley in Decatur), although it is made from non-local ingredients. (See today's post for details.)

When I was saying the pasta wouldn't be the right shape, I was talking about things like elbow pasta (macaroni) and shell pasta. In other words, pasta that isn't flat. You're right, though, that if he makes it himself and gets a bit creative, that might get him interested in actually eating it! :-)

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