The Washington Post informs me that sophisticated foodies have been flim-flammed with respect to their caviar and their sheep’s milk cheese. Turns out they have been eating the eggs of Mississippi paddlefish and the milk of cows, while paying for the more expensive alternatives. OK, so the first question that comes leaping to mind is If you cannot tell the difference, why would you spend the money on the more expensive stuff even if it is the real thing?
Personally, we like to eat a fair proportion of our food from places we have inspected personally. This does not work for bananas and coffee, of course, but it’s a pretty good bet for milk and eggs and beef and apples and spinach and potatoes and garlic and honey and maple syrup and cherries and peaches and . . . you get the idea. So if you’re worried about the paddlefish eggs and the fake sheep’s milk, this might be a very good time for you to think about joining your local CSA. If you live around here, that would be Providence Farm, up on M-88 east of Farrell Road. It is time to register right now. I have uploaded a copy of the Providence Farm 2010 registration form for you, and you can read Andrea Romeyn’s March 2010 newsletter here.
See, this is what I like about living in Antrim County. We’re in charge of the food. OK, I suspect that no one has milked a sheep here in living memory, other than a lamb, of course, as is proper. On the other hand, you are absolutely gah-ron-teed not to meet any Mississippi paddlefish, either, and isn’t that a good thing.
You might also like to get personally acquainted with the cattle at Mark White’s and the McAuliffs’, and you will if you keep reading Torch Lake Views. You’ll hear about the farm markets all through the season, too, but you could also pick up the new edition of Taste the Local Difference, or check it out online. I did check it out online, and I find that the 2010 edition is not there yet, but I have faith. Soon, soon it will be there. And at the moment, you can peruse the wonders of the 2009 edition.
Torch Lake Views 
Katherine
March 30, 2010
Like Pen and Teller’s B.S. series. They did one on water. where they had a water steward in a restaurant who would offer different waters to the patrons and it was all the same from the garden hose out back.
Too many people want the latest, bestest, and most expensive stuff because they think it’s somehow better.
We grow and can quite a bit of the food we eat and it IS better. Because we know what went into it, where it comes from and the work it took to get it here.
Gerry
March 31, 2010
I can attest to the splendor of your Pepper Water. Have you ever processed fish in any way? I met a man up in the Keweenaw who canned lake trout and it was good. I’ve always suspected that I’d make a mess of it, but it seems like a good complement to fruits and vegetables. My friend Nancy cans venison. It’s good, too, but I am not my mother and I am not going deer hunting.
Scott Thomas Photography
March 31, 2010
Sound advice and I see you have your own inspector to make sure of authenticity. 😉
Gerry
March 31, 2010
Indeed, the Cowboy is very knowledgeable about produce, having filched more than his share from that very basket. In the spirit of “green blogging,” this is a recycled photo. I wanted an illustration and was too lazy to go over to the Romeyns’ to take pictures of the early spring activity. Although now that I think of it, that would make a very nice afternoon.
p.j. grath
March 31, 2010
Just thinking of local produce in your neighborhood makes my mouth water for the peach pies of August!
Gerry
March 31, 2010
Beats paddlefish eggs all hollow, doesn’t it!
Leslie
March 31, 2010
Happy Easter!
Gerry
April 1, 2010
Why hello, Leslie! And a Happy Springtime to you as well.
elva
April 1, 2010
Gerry, your Torch Lake Views is so interesting I look forward to it every day just like my morning paper. I’m so happy you sought Nora out and wrote about her – she has so many collections I have told her I didn’t think she used anything as she was aging as everything looks like new. By the by, asparagus, cauliflower and artichokes are 2/4.00 this week in Florida and get this – strawberries “buy 1 get one free” and save 4.99 on two. I’m jealous of the weather – believe it has been warmer in northern Mich than it is here in W. Palm. Oh well, I’m looking forward to returning later this month so keep it warm for me.
Gerry
April 1, 2010
OK, so, we have better bargains on asparagus and strawberries this week and it’s warmer. It’s a sign. C’mon home now! You can go joy-riding with Nora and me. (And thank you for the nice compliment.)
La Mirada Bob
April 1, 2010
You are not your Mother? Ha!
She went deer hunting with a gun no less. We put her on a stand near another lady and they enjoyed themselves until a wolf sauntered by. She pointed the gun at the wolf and threatened to shoot if it came any closer. It did not, she did not and after discovering that she could have received a bounty she was very contrite.
Gerry
April 1, 2010
Wait, wait! I have told that story altogether differently! I even wrote a poem about it! Another fine example of how easy it is to rewrite history every time we remember anything. I would have sworn that she hunted regularly and successfully. I remembered her setting out to get a wolf for the bounty, meeting it face to face, and finding herself unable to shoot it because–again in my memory–it was simply too beautiful and wild to kill. Huh. OK, I like my story better.
If I did not catch my first fish in the Detroit River with only a wooden ruler, a length of sturdy black thread, and a bent safety pin, I do not want to know it.