Localvores - Day Four
DAY FOUR - THURSDAY
I make the best White Bean & Kale Soup in the world. No lie, it's sooooo good, and it's vegan. My family requests it for dinner at least once per week, alongside homemade bread. As you probably noticed, we still haven't found a local option for our superfood staples, kale and garlic. So far, we've been to the mega grocers, Shaw's & Price Chopper, our two local markets, River Valley and Blue Mountain Produce, and have raided our neighbor's freezer. We haven't gone to the Brattleboro Co-op (Brattleboro, VT), simply because it is a 35 minute drive from our house, although they probably have the biggest selection of local products in the area. Again, not wanting to expend the carbon emissions, I rambled around our town, stopping at the local markets, asking about the origin of their kale and garlic. Both markets are family owned and super sweet and helpful but neither had what I needed. When I told the produce guy at Blue Mountain Produce he astutely stated, "would have been easier to do your local project during the summer. Our produce comes from South America this time of year." True, I've learned, but I was determined. At the River Valley Market, I noticed they carried Olivia's organic baby kale so I checked out the address on the back of the plastic container (I usually avoid anything cloaked in thick plastic, therefore the oversight) and was shocked that it's from Chelsea, MA - iPhone says 125 miles! Still not an ideal distance but we could have our soup! I grabbed a couple baguettes (made at the Vermont Country Deli in Brattleboro) and some goat cheese from VT Creamery in Websterville, VT. Since I was late for a school pick up, I abandoned the garlic and decided to substitute it with extra onions and garlic powder.
Menu for Day Four:
White Bean & Kale Soup:
White Beans - 2014 grown and dried here at the Rennsli Project Farm!
Kale - Olivia's organic baby kale, Chelsea, MA
Vegetable Broth - homemade
Onions - Morning Kiss organic yellow onions - Chelsea, MA
Baguette - River Valley Market in Wilmington, VT / baked at Vermont
Country Deli in Brattleboro, VT
