Localvore

There's nothing I like better than supporting my local businesses, and farmers! I love being able to go to the farmers market and ask the farmer how long my veggies will stay good for, how long it will take for my peaches to ripen, and how to correctly harvest my basil. A few nights ago I made a dinner made from almost all local ingredients...

Veggies (corn, pepper, zucchini, tomato) - Visser Farms

Goat Milk Cheddar Cheese - Green Meadow Dairy

Bread - Schnitz Bakery

Chicken marinated in vinegarette - not local, but I could lie and say I bought it from the free-range poultry guy at the market!

Did you know that when West Michigan consumers choose a locally owned business over a non-local alternative, $73 of every $100 spent stays in the community? By contrast, only $43 of every $100 spent at a non-locally owned business remains in the community. One of my favorite things to do is shop at local bakeries for fresh homemade bread and also try out new local restaurants. Last week Ryan and I tried Tavern on the Square downtown. They offer American tapas, so everything is "small plate" made for sharing. They offer an option of choosing 3 items from the menu for $20, so we tried the burger, chicken quesadilla, and soft pretzels. Since the "small plates" weren't really that small we had more than enough food, but it was delicious! I'm hoping to get to Wealthy Street Bakery on time for breakfast sometime this fall, and I'm also looking forward to knocking Brick Road Pizza and Johnny B'z Dogs off my list!