Teaching kids: the importance of buying local
I've told this story a couple of times over the past few days, so I figured it was high time I share it here.
As I've mentioned a zillion times, our favorite produce store in Toledo is Rhode's Garden Fresh. One of the (many) things we like about this store is the fact that they have so much locally grown produce. It's pretty easy to tell what's local because they use colored signs. All local produce qualifies for senior nutrition coupons and the colored signs make it easy for the elderly shoppers to figure out what to buy. They also make it easy for parents to teach children about the importance of buying local.
Last weekend, when I took Dylan to Rhode's, I told her that we'd only be buying items with colored signs. I explained that these items were grown in Ohio or Michigan. As we walked through the store, she found all of the signs, and we filled our cart. When she wanted asparagus, I explained that it wasn't in season locally. When she wanted oranges, I told her we'd be better off with locally grown peaches or blueberries. We had a blast, and everything we bought was local.
One of our purchases was broccoli, and that was the basis of tonight's dinner. I heated a pan, added extra virgin olive oil, and sauteed the broccoli until it started to brown. Then, I added two cloves of very thinly sliced garlic. I added a touch more oil to prevent burning, and after the garlic started to smell divine, I poured in a jar of Trader Joe's Pomodoro sauce and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. And, because it seemed like a good idea, a splash of red wine.
After this cooked for a bit, I added about 1/2 cup of half and half and about two tablespoons of butter. I cooked up a pound of penne, drained it and added it to the pan. Everyone loved this meal.
