Locavore?

What the hell is a locavore? It sounds like some crazy Italian low carb diet.

A locavore is someone who will only cook/eat/digest food that is produced locally. So what's locally, you cask? The most common definition of locally is within an one hundred mile radius. This month's Food+Wine magazine had an interesting article about how being a locavore is the latest trend amongst the trendy chefs and foodies out there.

My first thought was, gee that's fine for people living in California, but how would a fire loving guy in the depths of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn survive as locavore in the dead of winter? I'd be dead in a month (Stop your cheering now. I mean it. Stop. Now.)

As I read the article, it started out with some interesting thoughts and recipes from Dede Simpson from, hold on, California. Big Whoop. It's easy eating locally grown produce when the produce is still growing in say, February. But then, it was followed up by recipes from Jeremy Silansky from... VERMONT. Yes, snowy, isolated, lovely Vermont.

So how does Jeremy do it? With some extensive planning and some handy dandy food connections to farmers in the area. He cans and freezes fresh vegetables all through the summer and fall harvest season. He also relies heavily on his network of farmers to feed him. How many farmers do you know who grow watercress in January in a pond behind their house?

So is it possible for a fire loving guy in Brooklyn to survive as a locavore? Not this fire loving guy, thank you very much. It's a very interesting concept, it's way too much work. I have a lot of respect for the people who do this, hell I grill all year long, but it's not for me.

I'll still try to eat seasonal ingredients all year long. (Does that still buy me snaps in the food community?) See you out by the fire pit.