Jersey fresh

Oh, how I love New Jersey. Well, except for the traffic that seems to meet me whenever I try to go somewhere more than 15 minutes away-- that's getting old. But I suppose it's to be expected when your state is this awesome. Everyone wants to check it out.

Anyway. I love food, and am particularly enthusiastic about local food. New Jersey produces a lot of really awesome foodstuffs. I needed to share my last two snacks because they were both awesomely delicious and both grown literally within a stone's throw of where I ate them. I'm sharing them with you so you can be jealous, but also so I have it in writing and can remember how good this was forever.

My last food at camp: wheat toast with elderberry jam, as made by my friends Andrew Walker and Drew Lovering. The elderberries were growing in Lower Meadow, which is about thirty seconds from Lakeside, the cabin I was living in until a few hours. So good.

My first food at home: tomato with fresh basil. The tomato is a Rutgers tomato, bought at Agricultural Field Day this past spring, and planted on the side of my parents' house. The basil has been growing in a little pot on the back porch of the aforementioned Lakeside all summer (also purchased at the aforementioned Ag Field Day). It's kind of a pathetic couple of sweet basil plants, not a ton of leaves, but what was there was delicious. The pot fell over while I was driving home and one of the plants broke, so I ate it with a tomato. So good.

A few weeks ago, a group of staff members got together in the evening and had a lengthy discussion about how we produce and consume food. It was a really great conversation, mainly focused on the local food movement but also covered other ideas about GMOs and other food issues. I really think food is interesting; everyone needs it, so we might as well actually think about what we're doing with it. But beyond my love of cooking and eating and talking about food, Jersey fresh foods are just one of the many reasons why I love my home state.