Day 12

Hi, feeling a bit sheepish as I am painfully aware of all of the assumptions I have made and mistakes about food sources. I am also aware of the research that is piling up, and more seems to be required each day. I am also starting to realise what everyone else probably knew from day one (especially the ones who were saying things like "You are so brave" and "Wow, that's a challenge"). I am not sure if I am naive or innately attracted to struggling. If we are really serious about sourcing all of our food locally, we will have to exclude sugar, which just about eliminates all packaged foods, which means - eating fresh fruit and veg, meat, and dairy products, and making all of our own bread, and baked goods, and rarely eating out except for fish and chips - but then there is the oil it is cooked in! :(

It RAINED today - what a relief from the heatwave we have been experiencing - this may have contributed to the small number of customers coming through the door of the food co-op today. It was a perfect opportunity to do some investigation into the products on the shelves.

The following is the (short) list of local products:
Kangaroo Island Ligurian Bee Honey $3.70 - 250g and Quandong conserve $6.70 - 250g; both
from Ildoura Wild Fruits in Parndarna KI.
Carrot and Ginger Juice from Douglas Park Organics (not sure about the ginger though)
'Willunga Hills Organics' extra virgin olive oil grown and packed in Willunga $17.50 Litre
Rosie's Free Range Eggs - Eudunda SA
Alexandrina Cheese - Mt Jagged SA
Of course there is local honey, almonds, and fruit and veg, but these were not labelled, so I could not verify the location they came from.

The following is the (long) list of non-local products:
Australis Organic Chai - QLD
Clear Mountain Rooibos Tea - South Africa
Austral Herbal Teas - NSW - Local and imported ingredients
Macrobiotic Sea Salt - QLD
Spiral Seaweed - all varieties - Japan
Rapunzel Organic Vegetable Bouillon - Switzerland
Felafel mix - VIC
Thomas Chapman organic corn chips & potato chips - Lillydale VIC
Herbamere A-vogel herb salt - France
Organic prunes - NSW
Pure Harvest organic corn cakes & rice cakes - VIC - local and imported ingredients
Pure Harvest oat milk, rice milk, & almond milk - VIC - imported and local ingredients
Organix buckwheat, navy beans, kidney beans & berlotti beans - China
Muir Glen Organic tomatoes - USA
Mexicana organic corn chips - Yarra Valley VIC
Organic popcorn - VIC - local and imported ingredients
Natures Path Organic cornflakes - Canada
Envirokids cocoa pops - USA
Orgran muesli - VIC - Local and imported ingreds.
Organic cherry tomatoes - VIC
Organic free range eggs, Sunny farm - QLD
Wild Rocket - VIC
Organic Root Beer - USA
Phoenix Juice - NZ - Local & Imported ingredients
Lloyd's Organic Harvest Biodynamic juice - VIC
Harmonic organic spreadable butter - Denmark
Savy organics unsalted butter - NZ
Muso organic miso - Japan
Robinvale biodynamic juice - VIC
Pure Life Organic sprouted Essene bread - NSW
Organic Indulgence dips - VIC
Spiral Foods Tamari - VIC
Organic potatoes - TAS
Organic Tahini - made in NSW from Mexican sesame seeds
Organic chocolate Green and Blacks - Italy
Lotus Foods VIC
Pure Harvest Organics - VIC
Good Morning Cereals organic - QLD
Mary's Gone Crackers crackers - USA
Kialla Pure Foods - QLD
Steve's Organics macadamia & cashew paste - cashews from Vietnam
Norganic Mayonnaise - NSW
Riverside Foods organic apricot jam - VIC
Central Australian Date & Ginger jam - Alice Springs NT
Mexican Agave nectar This Earth This Food - Mexico
Molasses This Earth this Food - Paraguay
Clipper Organic teas - VIC
Healtheries Dandelion coffee alternative -NSW
Green & Blacks organic hot chocolate - Italy
Native Arabica organic coffee - USA
Clipper coffee - made in Germany from imported ingredients
Hari Har Chai - NSW
Formosan - Taiwan (packed in Lonsdale)
Natures Cuppa tea - Ceylon (packed in VIC)

I am shocked about a few of my old favourites, especially the ones from overseas like spreadable organic butter, herbamere salt, and tahini. I am soon going to have to report on my pantry contents, which is another story altogether - I am starting to realise that the stocks in our pantry are going to last for a long time. We need to have another family meeting to discuss not opening or not using some items that will last for longer than a year.
We have a glut of zucchini at the moment so I am finding recipes for them, like stuffed zucchini, zucchini cake and ratatouille. Tonight we had a hybrid sort of ratatouille and brown & wild rice. It was not that popular with the boys, comments being, "Not very tasty" and "It's vegetarian". This does not auger well for our spice free future!

The Good News:

I received an email from Greenwheat Freekeh today - their wheat is grown between Clare and Two Wells - within our radius, and their product is a substitute for rice or cous cous. Yay!