Living Local: Learning Flexibility

A friend of mine asked me recently what the biggest change was for me since I started primarily shopping local. After thinking about it, I decided it was that I had to become flexible in my cooking. That might not be a big leap for you, but I can be a bit, um, intense in my projects and flexibility isn't always the first word you would think of to describe me. (All of my friends reading this can stop laughing and/or nodding your heads now.)

I used to pick recipes for the week, make a detailed list of what I needed and head to the grocery store. I tried to use that same strategy when I switched to shopping at the markets, but it didn't work. I might pick a recipe with asparagus in it because there was asparagus at the market the week before, but this week - no asparagus. I guess I could have gone to Central Market to get the asparagus, but that's not how I wanted to do things.

Instead, I've learned to go to the market, buy what looks appealing and then find a recipe for it. Sometimes I go with a recipe in mind, like when I made paella, but I knew the ingredients were in season and would be there.

I was reminded of all this on Saturday when I accompanied my friend Heather to the Sunset Valley Farmers Market. Heather wanted to make beef bourguignon so we set out for the ingredients. First, we visited the meat vendors. No one had the stew meat she wanted so instead she ended up with steak - more expensive, but it would be delicious. Then we went to find the mushrooms. It turned out we should have bought the mushrooms first because by the time we got there (we had seen the booth earlier), they were sold out. Ugh.

Heather got lots of other goodies including Kocurek sausage and Meyer lemons, but she was going to have to head to H-E-B to get the mushrooms - not a bad thing, just not what she'd intended.

It's funny because eating what's in season has not just changed my habits, but also my palate.  I used to buy tomatoes every time I went to the grocery store.  Now, I don't even want to eat them if they aren't in season.  They don't taste good to me at all.  Instead, in the winter I am excited about radishes and turnips that I know I won't be able to get in August.

If you are thinking about making the switch to Living Local, I encourage you to find your flexible side.  Be open to trying new things, going with the flow of the market, looking for substitutions and being creative.  Most importantly, be willing to set some of your old favorites to the side and make room for some new favorites.

See you at the market!