In the long list of goals for leaving urban New Jersey and moving to suburban Illinois (and there were quite a few things on that list) "finding local food sources" was high on the list. Sure, we had a pretty good farmer's market in Montclair, but I wanted the farms to be closer and the food to be available all year.
Well, the all-year thing will have to wait until we move back to California (in my dreams) but for now I can say that I've achieved that goal in a two ways ... so far.
One: MILK! I'm completely obsessed with Oberweis milk. Sure, it's a chain of dairy stores around Chicagoland but they are committed to locally-sourced milk from cows not treated with bovine growth hormone. (The hormone that makes cows produce more, but is getting passed into the milk and causing issues for little girls. Go read up on it, it's troubling.)
And the milk is DELICIOUS. I'm a bit of milk snob. I don't like the cardboard aftertaste and I can tell if it's been on a truck too long. This is fresh. They offer the milk in these cute glass bottles, make cheese and yogurt and ICE CREAM. All fabulous. The kids like the chocolate milk the most.
They also have home delivery that I haven't signed up for ... yet.
Two: EGGS! It's no secret that I want to have my own laying chickens. I day dream about the kids chasing the hens around the yard and feeding them in wooden clogs like Cinderella. Sigh. Also, fresh eggs from non-farmed chickens are healthier and much tastier. Enter Dave's work colleague who bought a hobby farm a few years ago just up the street and has 6 or 7 chickens -- and more eggs than he can eat each week. So we got added to his "route." His eggs arrive in a few different colors, including a light blue, and are absolutely yummy.
Recently, I did a little taste test with one supermarket egg (from an Illinois farm) and the fresh ones. The difference is noticeable -- down to the color of the yoke. His are super-bright!
Anyway, I'm looking forward to the spring when local farmers (I pass enough farmland each week) come out to sell their harvest. Perhaps via a CSA or farm co-op. Wish me luck! Until then, stop by for some milk and eggs!
Well, the all-year thing will have to wait until we move back to California (in my dreams) but for now I can say that I've achieved that goal in a two ways ... so far.
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| Simply. The. Best. |
And the milk is DELICIOUS. I'm a bit of milk snob. I don't like the cardboard aftertaste and I can tell if it's been on a truck too long. This is fresh. They offer the milk in these cute glass bottles, make cheese and yogurt and ICE CREAM. All fabulous. The kids like the chocolate milk the most.
They also have home delivery that I haven't signed up for ... yet.
Two: EGGS! It's no secret that I want to have my own laying chickens. I day dream about the kids chasing the hens around the yard and feeding them in wooden clogs like Cinderella. Sigh. Also, fresh eggs from non-farmed chickens are healthier and much tastier. Enter Dave's work colleague who bought a hobby farm a few years ago just up the street and has 6 or 7 chickens -- and more eggs than he can eat each week. So we got added to his "route." His eggs arrive in a few different colors, including a light blue, and are absolutely yummy.
Recently, I did a little taste test with one supermarket egg (from an Illinois farm) and the fresh ones. The difference is noticeable -- down to the color of the yoke. His are super-bright!
Anyway, I'm looking forward to the spring when local farmers (I pass enough farmland each week) come out to sell their harvest. Perhaps via a CSA or farm co-op. Wish me luck! Until then, stop by for some milk and eggs!
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