Eating Local

Over the last year, John and I have been working toward eating healthier, organically and locally. Durham is an amazing place to do this because we are literally surrounded by amazing local farms from which you can buy just about anything. This week was a really fun week and huge step forward for us as we try to eat consciously. First of all, our CSA with Britt Farms began last week, meaning that every week local farmers, Vernon and Jennifer, meet us at the Duke Gardens with a fresh box of beautiful produce. We have already been spoiled by them with greenhouse tomatoes, asparagus and an early crop of fresh strawberries! It is an adventure in cooking every week and so fun to connect with the people who labor over our food, something we as Americans rarely do. Then on Saturday, to top off our food-focused week, we and some friends took part in the Farm Tour. For those of you not in Durham, this is a weekend when all of the local farms open their doors and allow us to see what they grow and how they grow it. It was so fun! We stopped by Eco-Farm, Chapel Hill Creamery, Fickle Creek Farm and of course grabbed some fresh ice-cream from Maple View. It was so inspiring to see how it all happens and my respect for those in the farm industry has grown ten-fold. Plus, we got to come home with freshly laid eggs, Farmer's cheese and a belly full of amazing ice-cream!!For those in the Durham area, I strongly recommend stopping by one of our amazing farmer's markets to utilize the wonderful farm fresh produce, meats, dairy and eggs we have so readily available for us. Or, if you can't get up that early on a Saturday, join a local CSA, I know Britt Farms still has some spaces left. It is so important to eat locally and support our local farmers! They are amazing people who are generous, hard-working and love producing quality food for us, what could be better?