Serious Green: Food Independence Day
Here at Serious Eats we love being able to fulfill a commitment just by eating a delicious meal.
Kitchen Gardeners International (the same people who successfully led the charge for a White House Kitchen Garden) are now running a campaign to encourage local and sustainable eating on the Fourth of July. So far, more than 5,000 individuals have pledged to eat a meal made with local food on July 4. The "Food Independence Day" petition also asks the nation's 50 governors to participate and share what they will be eating.
The petition reads: "As residents of your states and by our signatures below, we pledge to join you in this celebration of edible independence by eating healthy and delicious foods from our own local farms, gardens and communities."
What better way to celebrate America's independence then by feasting on locally grown and raised food? Not only will your purchase support your local community, but you might even meet an artisan, farmer, or cheese-maker you didn't know before.
So this Saturday, July 4, declare your food independence with locally inspired dishes. If you don't think you can create a mostly local meal, pick one dish and try to include one local thing--maybe some mint from your own garden in a drink, watermelon from a roadside stand in a salad, or a roasted pastured chicken from a nearby farmer. Here's a sample menu (with recipes) to get you started.
Mint Julep
Roast Chicken with Saffron and Lemons
Grilled Halloumi Cheese and Watermelon Salad
New Potato and Summer Squash Salad
Artisanal Cheeses
Strawberry Shortcake
Need help finding a source of local food? Local Harvest is a good resource for finding farmers, CSAs, and other local producers by zip code.
Serious Eaters: What are you serving for July 4th, and are you planning on including local ingredients in your meal?
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2 Comments:
The 4th of July always says potato salad to me. So I'll be making my own entirely local potato salad.
The salad, along with some sausages, some burgers, and some smoked salmon will all be nearly 100% local. This year I will leave out the artichoke hearts and the capers as those are the only two ingredients I cannot obtain locally. I cannot get olive oil for the mayo, but I am going to attempt it with grapeseed oil for better flavor and for a more local oil.
cooklocal at 4:49PM on 06/30/09
For our beach picnic dinner we feasted on curried tofu salad made with no-gmo, locally made tofu (Whole Food carries it!) and Asian cabbage salad fresh from our organic CSA. YUM! We bought some Steaz organic, fair trade sparkling green tea root beer as a treat. I was weeding and mulching in the garden all morning so I missed the farmers' market and had to use store bought bread :(. Dessert was organic Rainier cherries from Whole Foods.
greenfoodgal at 9:44AM on 07/05/09