Eating local is addictive

Yes, August is over and I'm still doing it. Not religiously, of course; I did buy that lettuce the first chance I got! And Swiss bittersweet chocolate featured prominently in my diet yesterday.

But when I went into town today, I found myself still scrutinizing labels to find out where the foods were grown and produced. The answer to that question is important to me now, so I tried to find it whenever possible.

The farmer's market was on its last legs. I think it's pretty much over for the season. But I also visited an upscale natural-foods type grocery and made a couple of great discoveries there. And while I was waiting for my car to be worked on, I had plenty of time to loiter in the aisles of the Kroger across the street. I found things I wouldn't have found otherwise, so I guess it's a blessing in disguise that the parts runner took forever to bring my new spark plugs.

Clockwise from upper left: Appalachian Harvest organic tomatoes, Sunergia marinated tofu*, green pepper and garlic from the farmer's market, Georgia mountain honey, Pollo de Claxton**, Roddenberry boiled peanuts, roasted peanuts, bronze scuppernong grapes.

On the home front, my fall garden is getting a great start. I have been watering the garden twice a day because we're going through a hot, dry spell and I have seedlings trying to germinate. Some have succeeded already! There are little rows of mustard greens, lettuce, and radishes starting to appear. I am extremely pleased.

Still no sign of the four-pound Vogue. It's been late before, but sheesh.

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* Made in Charlottesville, Virginia. Where there are hippies, there is tofu! Most excellent.

** Why is the all-natural family-farmed chicken from Claxton, Ga., marketed solely to the Hispanic market?