oh-so-local

how sweet is local food month, now that the co-op has opened its new store one block away from my office? so sweet. that also makes it less than 15-minute walk from home, or a 3-minute drive if need be. yesterday i just walked around and enjoyed the opening-day atmosphere (free samples, lots of happy people), but today i had the great pleasure of running in for a loaf of oh-so-local bread. and maybe a cookie. bad thing: the bloomingfoods tollhouse cookie has entered a one-block radius of my office. and they're not encased in plastic wrap, so i have no moral compunction about grabbing one or two or three or four a week...no, not EVERY day. geez, i'm not a PIG. so, for dinner, it was sourdough toast points with tomato salad, and pan-fried potatoes and zucchini. all local except for the incidentals (olive oil, seasonings, balsamic), a little heavy on the carbs, but all delicious. i think i can wrap my brain around this local-eating thing now: you don't decide what you want and then go shopping; instead, you see what's available and then decide how to make it. speaking of tomatoes: my brandywine is looking a little worse for the wear. one side is wilted and yellowing, it was listing badly, and maybe half of the flowers have dried out. i read recently that that tomato starts can be planted up to the second tier of leaves, so i put a little mound of soil around the base to, hopefully, solidify its position and retain more water. we'll see how it goes. the cherry tomato seems very happy, so my brown thumb must have a green tinge to it. how's your first week of local eating coming along?