General cooking tips
Our survival no longer depends on our knowledge of nature's cycles, but there is much to be gained from getting back this lost wisdom. Regardless of technology's advances, the fact remains that food in season is the best. Apples taste better when they haven't been flown half way around the world. And buying in season encourages local producers who, boosted by factors like the rise in farmers' markets, are building a more sustainable food industry.
Buy Local Food : Strawberries, blueberries and many other kinds of fruit often are available from farms that allow you to do the harvesting (or not, if you prefer to pay for the cost of picking). Many fruits are easy to freeze, and apples will keep all winter in a cool corner of the garage.
Buy Local Food : Cultivate an awareness of how far your food travels. When Rich Pirog, Food Systems Program Leader for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, tracked the miles traveled for 16 types of produce, he found that locally sourced fruits and vegetables such as apples, lettuce and tomatoes traveled an average of 56 miles, compared to 1,494 miles — nearly 27 times farther — for the same fruits and vegetables delivered through conventional retail channels. Things get stickier with combination foods, strawberry yogurt for example. Pirog came up with 2,216 miles by adding up the distance traveled for the yogurt’s milk, sugar and strawberries. That figure could be slashed by 90 percent if you buy plain yogurt and stir in some locally grown honey and fruit.