Seasonally Inspired with Local Food Love

Earlier this week, while visiting Saratoga Springs, New York, for the NESAWG conference, we came across a sign that revealed some kindred spirits in the area. It advertised a locavore restaurant, Comfort Kitchen, with the description: "LOCALLY sourced, SEASONALLY inspired comfort food."

"Seasonally Inspired." Now that's a nice phrase. Inspiration brings to mind a sense of delight. These words communicate that we can delight in food from nature -- the true source of our food. We so thoroughly agree with this concept that last fall we changed our name to Down to Earth Markets to express that food is best when it comes from the earth, rather than from a long chain of artificial processing.

It makes such good sense. Yet it is still an emerging line of thinking. In a recent article for a produce industry magazine, "Foodservice Feels the Influence of Sustainability Trend," writer Tom Burfield states that more large-scale produce buyers are asking for local product. A representative from one of the suppliers, Church Brothers, is quoted as saying, "We can do a lot more than local guys do because we have more volume....local growers can't guarantee that they always will have product available."

Exactly! For the growing community of people who support strong local food sources, seasonality is the spark of culinary spontaneity. On this Valentine's Day, let's celebrate the sense of connection to nature and community. We know we can't have every food available, every day of the year. That's what makes food special. Down to Earth Markets has all sorts of delicious, delightful recipes available in our website Recipe Box. Take a look and feel free to respond with some of your favorite recipes from farmers market ingredients. We'd love to hear from you. And thank you for joining us every week at the farmers market to be "seasonally inspired."