A Conscious Feast by Nicole Aloni

Since moving to Seattle from season-free Southern California, I have had to adjust to postponed pleasures. Learn to wait. There are big, long stretches of time with little sun, weeks without a dry patch of sky, lots of cold days and plants asleep under ground.

Then, just when you think you can’t stand it anymore, things start to pop. And along with every other soul who lives here I am so excited about the sexy tulips, the florid Magnolia trees and the way my street smells, that it’s the primary topic of conversation; we qvell about the springing of the new season for weeks. Waiting really does make you appreciate the eventual bursting forth. Now I get it.

It’s interesting that my adventures with being a locavore (definition below) should have come about living in this place where I was introduced to the rhythm of nature. Becuase that is really what it means to be a locavore in a lot of ways: to treasure real things at the real time. Ultimate, not instant, gratification.

Locavore : This New Oxford American Dictionary’s “2007 Word of the Year” was coined in 2005 by a small group in San Francisco. It was invented to describe eco-pioneers who strive to consume only foods from their foodshed (another new word bundled together to describe a local, sustainable food system supplying a small area). Locavores place an emphasis on organic foods obtained from local farmers and Farmers’ Markets.

Some locavores have established a 100-mile radius as the boundary for their foodshed while some limit their diet to an entire region, like the Northeast. But, however strict or flexible, engaging in the locavore lifestyle to any degree supports local food sources and reduces your personal carbon footprint by cutting the amount of fuel consumed in transportation from the farm or field to your plate.

I decided that the locavore concept was something I could really sink my teeth into. I liked the way the boundaries streamlined a conscious approach to shopping. With these limitations, it’s actually easier to make the right choices-—like being on Weight Watcher’s, only cooler.

My local market still looks bleak, but I have hopes for this.

It’s a Caprese Salad from last summer’s garden bounty. Couldn’t be simpler: great tomatoes, great fresh mozzarella, spicy Thai basil and fruity green olive oil from Sicily. Then generous grinds of black pepper from my “essential” automatic grinder.