Local Perspective – Oh, The Things We’ll Make!

I am thrilled to introduce you to Tracy from Oh, The Things We’ll Make! Tracy is an incredibly creative Mama who is continuously coming up with new and inventive ways to celebrate life on a daily basis! From her five minute pouch, to her handmade soap, her can-do DIY attitude is incredibly inspiring. Additionally, Tracy has a deep love for food in all of it’s delicious forms and has a very unique perspective on how it looks to eat locally in Spain!

Please enjoy getting to know Tracy a bit as she shares with all us her local perspective!

xoxo,
M

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Originally from Michigan, I am now living in a coastal town on the Spanish Riviera.

Living in a new country and climate obviously greatly affects the types of local foods I have available. Being not only interested in the origin of my food, but also in its quality, it is tricky to eat as I want to sometimes.

Unlike back in Michigan, I don’t have access to places like Whole Foods Market, or similar stores, with shelves shelves of organic produce. There is one small store I know of, with a few types of organic fruits and vegetables, but it is difficult to park nearby and doesn’t have enough variety to motivate me to go as often as I would like. With time, I have also found some people who sell non-certified organic fruits and vegetables at our weekly local farmers market. Local farmers markets are a great place to find quality fruits and vegetables inexpensively. Since you are buying directly from the source, the price isn’t inflated by middlemen. Plus, you can speak directly with the people that raise the food, so you can learn more about the methods they use.

Because it can be tricky to buy locally sourced organic fruits and vegetables, I prefer to grow my own whenever I can.

You can’t get any more local than your own back yard!

Land in my town, though, isn’t cheap or plentiful, and most people live in apartment complexes. For a while we did too, and I depended on my balcony for growing my herbs and whatever else I could. It was always claustrophobic for me, used to having land for growing herbs and fruits and vegetables.

I was ecstatic when we finally bought a house with land, especially because it happened to be around the time in which I was becoming even more conscious about where my food was coming from. I began planting a new herb garden as soon as I could, and we immediately started to plant various fruit trees all around the garden. With the difference in climate from what I was a accustomed to in colder Michigan, the opportunity to plant new plants like lychee, avocado, and mango trees made the experience even more exciting. With the coming of summer, I began planting a vegetable garden, not only because I enjoy it, but because I am aware of the importance of the quality of the foods we eat, and not just the types of foods.

Growing one’s own food whenever possible is the only way to completely know what is going into your food.

After I came to that realization, I decided that I wanted to expand from just growing fruits and vegetables, and I wanted to start raising animals of some sort. The obvious place to start was raising our own free range hens for eggs.

In my area it is very difficult to find good quality eggs.

The organic eggs I find aren’t really that local, and they come from a place where the hens do run outside, but only have access to a cement patio. The quality of their eggs wasn’t as good as I had hoped; the yolks weren’t very yellow and the texture just didn’t seem right. The free range eggs in my area seemed a little bit better, but I realized that those hens were probably eating food that was mostly made up of GMO corn and soy.

After some research, we decided to buy our own hens. Having ones own hens here isn’t that unusual amongst the people who have their own land. What is unusual, though, is worrying about what you feed them. Locally, I couldn’t find any chicken feed that was free of GMO corn and soy. I ordered organic feed online for awhile, but it came from far away and was very expensive. I eventually found some locally sourced non-GMO corn which I buy and mix with other grains and legumes to feed my hens. I’m not so concerned about it not all being 100% organic, but I am concerned about it being GMO-free.

From there, I was tempted into getting my own goat or cow, but we don’t really have a lot of space for either. I have also considered buying meal chickens, but neither my husband nor I consider ourselves able to butcher them. I highly respect those who are able to do it, though, and who are really able to take charge of their own food.

So, what does it mean to me to eat locally?

For me, the most ideal food is the food that you either grow or raise yourself, carefully contemplating how, exactly, you do it.

Next, I try to find local farmers, and talk with them about how they grow and raise their food.

There are certain things, though, that I can’t find within 100 miles from here. I can find poultry from relatively nearby, but not locally raised cows. Most of them are raised in the northern region of Spain, more then 100 miles away. I do try to buy beef and dairy products from Spain, though, rather than buying from other nearby countries in Europe.

Ever since hearing about Melissa’s challenge to eat locally, I have become more conscious when reading labels, and have been asking questions to find out where, exactly, my food is coming from.

Despite the above mentioned issues, doing Melissa’s challenge might be easier for me than most other people.
Why?

I am very lucky because, apart from having my own hens and the space to grow my own fruits and vegetables, my husband is a fisherman.

Every week he brings home either fish or shrimp or other seafood that is locally caught and doesn’t come from a fish farm. I love knowing that it has been caught that very day, and that it hasn’t been treated with any preservative powders (which are often used and not labelled).

I absolutely love to make different seafood recipes, and have even gathered over 65 of them together for those who are looking for more ways to enjoy it themselves.

There are always going to be some things that you like the aren’t native to your area.

I love tropical fruits, especially coconuts, and love to make my own coconut milk and flour, but unfortunately coconut palms won’t grow here.

Another big challenge for me, apart from wanting non-local coconut oils and tropical fruit, is to try to find locally sourced meats.

To be able to eat locally on a budget, I will try to eat less meat and rely more on our eggs and fish and locally raised fruits and vegetables.

It is probably healthier anyway.

I’m looking forward to reading about what others do, and seeing how the challenge goes!

Tracy Ariza is a slightly crunchy American expat living in Spain. She is the wife of a fisherman and the proud mother of a sweet toddler who loves to help her feed their hens and water their organic garden. When she’s not blogging at Oh, The Things We’ll Make!, she’s probably crafting, baking or hiking on their mountain with her two dogs. She loves trying to find a creative twist on cooking unprocessed foods and celebrating the holidays, and then sharing those ideas with you. Follow her on Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter for more recipes, crafts, and other great ideas!