Hounds In The Kitchen » All American Alcohol experiment

What is Local?

Rachel — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:57:55 +0000

little hound sniffing a local (backyard) pepper

Part of the purpose of Hounds in the Kitchen is to advocate for local foods and local eating. ‘Local‘ is subjective and prone to green-washing as are so many other terms. With the advent of Local Foods Week coming soon (see below), now is a good time to talk about what is local.

Some define local in terms of miles: In 2005, authors Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon spent a year eating only what was available growing in a hundred mile area surrounding their home. They chronicled their journey in the bestselling book Plenty: Eating Locally on the 100-Mile Diet, a highly recommended read. They maintain an informative website, 100milediet.org.

The challenge of a 100 mile diet is that many foodstuffs a kitchen relies on are not available year round within 100 miles of every location. Smith and MacKinnon made many a winter meal of the same few ingredients. While they did have access to a wide variety of foods in the US northwest, there are many locations where a 100 mile diet might be so limited as to not give enough variety to maintain optimum health.

Some define local in terms of their city, state, or country. Wanting to challenge ourselves to drink locally, we started the year 2008 with a resolution to only drink spirits, wine, and beer produced in the United States. We chronicled our progress at All American Alcohol (an old blog, posts now transferred here) but abandoned the cause in the spring when we drilled down into the local foods issue. We realized that California wine travels more miles to get to us in Ohio than French wine. Same with the one brand of American made agave spirit produced in California vs. Mexican tequila. We still often choose drinks that do not travel far, but we are no longer limited by geographical boundaries.

a local meal - veggies from the garden, US bread, Wisconsin mozzarella

Here’s our current version of local: Eat foods that come from as close as possible. Make purchases directly from the grower as often as you can to ensure the freshest quality and direct economic impact.

On many days this summer we were able to eat dishes where we grew nearly every ingredient organically in our own backyard. That’s local!

We visited pick your own farms to pick large quantities of local in season favorites and preserved them for the winter. PickYourOwn.org is a fantastic resource of places to pick and methods of preservation.

But as autumn comes (first frost warning tonight!), our yard will provide less bounty. We will use our summer preserves and continue to put up fall favorites for enjoyment far into the winter. We will shop the farmers markets to buy direct from Ohio growers as much as is possible. We will continue to purchase eggs and milk directly from a farmer friend. We choose organic produce in the supermarket when Ohio produce is unavailable. LocalHarvest.org is a good source of farmers growing unique commodities across the US and I plan to buy some non-Ohio produce in bulk (like cranberries) from Local Harvest growers this year.

There are several ingredients that we knowingly consume from thousands of miles away. Coffee and bananas, for instance, come from oceans away and are sometimes farmed with environmentally and ethically degrading means. We choose fairly traded, organic versions of these long traveling ingredients and savor them.

When making the decision about what to buy from where, we choose local + organic first, local but not organic next, and organic fair trade but not local third, and if not other choice exists, not local or organic. As much as possible, we apply the same standards to processed food.

During the summer, we eat about 70% local (by ingredients used). That percent declines in the winter or when we are busy.

It took years of changing eating and shopping habits to acheive our current level of local food eating. I plan to write several posts in the future about small steps you can take to change your habits if you are so inclined to eat more locally. I hope you do because local food is often more delicious, healthy, and supportive of the local economy.

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A few Columbus local food advocates met last week to talk about Local Foods Week. ‘What is local’ was one of our points of discussion. Lisa the Restaurant Widow has already written a post with the same title. Others may also write their interpretations of local soon and I will link them up here.

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Local Matters, a central Ohio organization advocating for urban agriculture, local foods in schools, and access to local farm foods, is celebrating local foods with a week of activities for Local Matters Local Foods Week coming up October 3 – 9.

They have an impressive lineup of events, starting with the Market to Market bike ride Saturday the 3rd and concluding with a Finale at the Dublin Whole Foods Market on the 9th. In between you will find benefit dinners, kitchen tours, a school garden tour, and a wine tasting.

Part of the motivation for Local Foods week is to build Local Matter’s donation program. They are selling $1 paper Local Matter’s sprouts at a variety of locations. If you join their 1000 Friends of Local Matters ($10/month or $120/year) during Local Foods Week, you can receive a special punch card for free Jeni’s Ice Cream.

No matter where you are in your journey to eat more locally, education and support is key. Participate in some of the events during Local Matters Local Foods week and you will enjoy the company of other local food lovers. Subsrcibe to the Hounds in the Kitchen feed for year round encouragement to eat locally.

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What is Local? is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen
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A note about All American Alcohols

Rachel — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 16:34:18 +0000

In late 2007 we decided to start a blog about All American Alcohols. It was our resolution to drink only american made spirits for 2008.

The resolution only lasted until April, and the blog petered our in May. You can read the old posts by clicking on the category ‘all american alcohols’ to the left.

Applicable posts from the old all american alcohols blog are also cross posted in the Spirits category. You can find a few reviews, some recipes and general info about US made spirits there. We’ll add more as we can, hopefully including a homebrew series sometime in the spring.

Cheers!

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A note about All American Alcohols is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen
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Ciao

Alex — Sun, 04 May 2008 01:19:00 +0000

Work is too crazy and we don’t have time to keep up with this blog. We’re still trying to drink local, but this will be the last blog post. Take it easy.

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Ciao is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen

We love to hear from you! Please add your comments or send Rachel an [...]

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Ciao is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen
We love to hear from you! Please add your comments or send Rachel an email.

Haven't posted in a while and travelling to Florida

Alex — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 03:01:00 +0000

We haven’t posted in a while because of illness and a busy schedule. On a brighter note, I will be in Florida all next week on business (West Palm Beach). Anyone got suggestions for a good local hooch? Post an idea or send it to alex@bayinghound.com.

What am I drinking right now? Bulleit Bourbon. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in a good qulity yet inexpensive bourbon.

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Haven't posted in a while and travelling to Florida is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen
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Wines traveling by sail boat

Rachel — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 04:02:00 +0000

The folks at 100 mile diet just posted a story about a new/old trend in Europe to ship wines by sail boat. This is how ancient wines were transported, of course. Some winemakers are reviving the trend to reduce their environmental impact (and shipping costs, presumably) by eliminating petroleum transportation fuel.

We say, “Fantastic!” Columbus Ohio isn’t likely to be reached by sailboat any time soon, but wind farms are being built here to generate consumer energy.

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Wines traveling by sail boat is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen
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What We're Drinking

Rachel — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 03:15:00 +0000

Busy times here so no detailed post, but here’s what we’ve been drinking the past few days:

Sam Adams Winter Lager – we look forward to this crisp rich brew every year

Full Sail Amber – the only interesting beer in a gas station on our way to Athens Sunday. Alex says “makes helluva boilermaker with a shot of Bulleit Bourbon”

Smoking Loon wine – it’s cheap, drinkable, and has funny text on the synthetic cork. Decent weekday wine.

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What We're Drinking is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen
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Small Business Contest – please vote!

Rachel — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 17:27:00 +0000

Intuit (makers of Turbo Tax and Quickbooks) is running a contest for small business owners. The winners will receive $50,000 in start up money and other prizes. Unfortunately we did not hear about it in time to enter.

However, a friend and mentor, Alissa DeRouchie, did enter and is in the final five! The winner is now up to voters. Here are five reasons I think you should vote for her:

1) Her business idea (a kid friendly cafe with healthy food) is innovative.
2) We have nothing like this in Columbus.
3) I know of at least 50 families that would support this business.
4) I need a healthy dining out option for my family.
5) Alissa has been successful running other businesses.

Please vote for Lissi (aderouch) at JumpUp Intuit. Vote today and once per day until January 31.

Need more information? Check out VoteCafeandPlay.com.

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Small Business Contest – please vote! is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen
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Let's Be Clear

Rachel — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 00:47:00 +0000

We do NOT support alcohol abuse.

We do believe in drinking responsibly.

Alcohol may be good for your health in moderation. However, just one drink of alcohol can cause impairment. We like to drink locally and just walk home. We believe that drinkers should designate a sober driver when needing transportation to and from parties or bars. If you think you have a problem, please get help.

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Let's Be Clear is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen
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The Current Bar

Rachel — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 02:58:00 +0000

One of our rules is that what is in our liquor cabinet at the beginning of the year is fair game for drinking, even if it is foreign. Here is everything we start with, with links provided for the unusual or highly recommended:

Tools:
The Little Black Book of Cocktails by Virginia Reynolds
Cocktail shaker
Selection of shot glasses
Plastic flask
Small pocket flask
SIGG stainless steel flask/bottle
Wooden muddler
Wooden reamer
Beer bottle opener (wall mount, hand held, and Homer Simpson voiced)
Wine bottle openers (lots because we can’t take them through airport security and are constantly buying them on trips away from home…but our opinion of the TSA is another topic…)

Liquor:
White Rum (foreign generic)
Bombay Gin (England)
Bulleit Bourbon (Kentucky USA)
Sauza Tequila (Mexico)
Vermouth (France)
Tuaca Liquor (Italy)
McClelland’s Single Malt Scotch (Scotland)
Paul Masson Brandy (Kentucky USA, home flavored with orange peel to resemble Grand Mariner)
Laphroaig Single Malt Scotch (Scotland)
Blue Curacao (Ohio USA)
Skyy Vodka (California USA)
Feist Madeira (Portugal)
Rain Vodka (Illinois USA, home flavored with ginger, orange and lemon)
Angostura Bitters (Trinidad)
Pinnacle Vodka (France)
G.E. Massenez Framboise Sauvage Wild Raspberry Brandy (France)
Kahlua (Mexico)

Wine:
Hoshi Sake (California)
Ozeki Sake (California)
Gnarly Head 2006 Old Vine Zin (California)
Razor’s Edge 2005 Shiraz (Australia)
Merum 2005 Monastrell (Spain)
Mo’s Strawberry Wine (home brewed by a friend of foreign and domestic fruits)
Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc (New Zeland) Mixed at Camelot cellars by Alex’s parents
Sula Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc (India)

Beer:
Lindeman’s Rasberry Frambroise (Belgium)
Chimay Cinq Cents (France)
La Fin Du Monde (Canada)
Michelob Ultra Amber (USA) my mama’s favorite

Mixers:
Homemade Grenadine (California?? Pomegranates)
Homemade Sours Mix (Florida sugar and lemons)
Creme De Menthe (USA)
Nellie and Joe’s Key Lime Juice (Florida)

Wow…that’s a lot of alcohol!

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The Current Bar is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen
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A New Rule

Rachel — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 23:15:00 +0000

We were talking about alcohol ingredients last night. Should we find the source of all ingredients in every beverage?

In a bottle of beer, even one made in Ohio, there could be hops from England or spices from the Carribean. Manufacturers don’t often publish the source of their ingredients. Unfortunately some might not even know this information.

The principle of All American Alcohol is to reduce transportation impact and highlight local breweries and distilleries. Therefore, as much as possible, we will not drink alcohol with known foreign ingredients. This means no Fuggles hops (usually imported from England) and only domestic juniper berries for homemade gin.

Here’s to the challenge!

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A New Rule is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen
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