It’s the final week September and time to finish this challenge with a bang! Unfortunately I missed both markets last week so I was forced to get creative and use what I had left in my fridge. After a quick tally, I found I had potatoes, more tomatoes (of course), garlic, and basil from the garden. Plus brown rice, millet, lemons, a cucumber, the last of the green onions and mozzarella that I picked up from the Coop.

I found that the simplest mixtures of things usually turned out the best. In which case, I made tabouleh for the first time using the millet, cherry tomatoes, green onions, cucumber and basil. Not your traditional tabouleh I know, but the substitutions turned out tasty and this prepared meal is great to pull quickly from the fridge.

Those extra potatoes and garlic from the garden, paired with my Berkeley olive oil, a bit of dill and fresh juice from a lemon tasted wonderfully together. I boiled the potatoes, then whisked the other ingredients together and added them in. I ate some warm right after I made it and also put them in the fridge for later.

With the surplus of tomatoes and basil, you’d think by now I would have used it to make many caprese salads, but this week was the first. The heirloom tomatoes just soaked up the balsamic vinegar and olive oil perfectly and the combination was mouth watering. I learned from the students at the school to top this with fresh pesto for an even better mixture. I think this is what I’ll make every week until my beloved tomatoes are gone from the vine.

Maybe I’ve had it easy because I had local food easily accessible from the garden, but this challenge did in fact, challenge me. I’ve made dishes using ingredients I never thought to combine before, like beets and carrots. And I’ve learned just how good it feels, to my body and mind, to know that what I eat comes from a good source. But I think I’ve learned most importantly, how easy it can be to eat local once you make the attempt to do so.

We have so many great resources, the Coop especially included, that feeding yourself and your family local foods can be done. I hope you’ve enjoyed my posts and pictures and have learned a few recipes yourself. So, until we meet again, bon apetit!