Boston Local Food Festival: A Puppy's Local Eating Adventure

What a day it's been! Me and my Teacup Yorkie-Pomeranian, Simba, hit the Boston Local Food Festival on October 7, 2012 at the Rose Kennedy Greenway to get our hands/ paws on the yummiest Boston grub. The Fest is an annual fête celebrating local foods with over 30,000 foodies, with the mission to increase the demand, availability and development of locally-owned food businesses. Over 100 local vendors, farmers, restaurants and non-profit organizations dedicated to local foods were present, providing visitors with free tastings, workshops and goodies from their kitchens and farms.

The festival had something for everyone from home beer brewing to kombucha fermenting. We learned how to massage kale with a tangy Asian brown rice vinegar dressing from Boston Public Market Association (they offer night markets and classes for those busy during the day to buy and cook locally at night!) and cut poultry from the Eden Pond Farm (Simba, a die-hard vegetarian, found it a bit difficult to watch a fellow animal be slaughtered but got through the initial shock).




We were those annoying clients sampling everything at the Fataschi stand, where heaping containers of walnut, pecan, hazelnut, almond, peanut and cashew butters teased us. After trying every type of nut-butter known to dog/mankind at Fataschi, we picked up the walnut and hazelnut for the perfect parfait. These creamy spreads have no added sugar, oils or salt and are magnificent in yogurt, on desserts or sliced on (local) apples and bananas.

Simba, being the puppy he is, decided to make it his mission to find the best local peanut-butter of all. He deliberated over each of Teddie's All Natural Peanut-Butter flavors, and among the super-chunky, creamy, organic and unsalted peanut-butters, he found the Flax-Seed Peanut-Butter the most interesting and delectable of all. We all love crunchy peanut-butter, but this version gets it's crunch from the added flax seed, which also brings down the calorie content and boosts up the fiber.

Like the true Bostonians we are, we got wicked excited about the lobster bisque, fresh oysters and seaweed kemp salad, all fresh from the Boston Harbor before us. The Festival had a Fish Stock/ Seafood Throwdown section with seafood delights, only appropriate as the Festival took part on the Boston Waterfront. After kicking back some oysters, we decided to try the local Kelp. Now if you love seaweed salad, you'll go crazy for this. Ever noticed seaweed salad has a bright green color and strong acidic/ salty taste? That's because the seaweed salad served at many Japanese restaurants is filled with artificial coloring, tons of sodium and preservatives to make it last longer. 

Ocean Approved are the first commercial Kelp farmers in the U.S. Funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce's NOAA agency and the Maine Technology Institute, Ocean Approved produces delicious sea vegetables without minimal impact the environment. Filled with more fiber and minerals than the fake seaweed salad your local Japanese joint is selling you, Kelp noodles can be used in recipes including Vegetarian Kelp Noodle Soup. I tried it simply prepared like a salad with apple cider vinegar and cabbage, and fell in love with the crunchy texture yet fresh, green, seaweed-y taste. You don't have to jump into the harbor- you can find them ready-to-eat in the frozen section at Whole Foods or can have them delivered to your door!

Like the lions we are, Simba and I didn't hold back on anything, as we are dedicated to providing our readers with a wide-ranged review on all foods local, no discrimination. However, to avoid illness, I closed Simba's eyes while I sampled the organic, extra-dark, locally produced Taza chocolate flavors. Inspired by stone ground chocolate from Mexico, Taza's chocolate contains no dairy, lactose, soy, soy lecithin, wheat, or gluten, plus it's Direct Trade Certified. The stones used "minimally refine the cacao beans, capturing all their vibrant flavors and allowing tiny bits of cacao and organic cane sugar to remain in the finished chocolate. The result: chocolate brimming with bright tastes and bold textures." Among the vanilla, orange, and ginger flavors and different levels of darkness, my favorite was the 87% pure cocoa because it delivered the most antioxidants and had a crispy, light taste, whereas most dark-chocolate is bitter and overpowering.

Despite our stomach-aches after eating a mixture of veggie samosas, goat-milk feta cheese, cocoa-coconut macaroons and Deano's Jalapeño chips (literally made out of jalapeños!), we came home proudly with bellies full of fall favorites like creamy pumpkin and apple soup, pumpkin-whoopie pies and my absolute favorite pumpkin lassis. (Imagine a mango lassi, but made with pumpkin.. recipe coming soon!

Eating locally doesn't have to be hard or have to happen once a year at a festival. Companies like Farmers To You deliver organic, local foods weekly right to your door, "bridging the gap between the bountiful gifts of dedicated farmers and the needs of busy families." Plus local farmers take place in almost every city- find one near you through Local Harvest.

"Eating is exhausting!"

Just like the Boston Food Festival, we are dedicated to the Zero Waste goal and didn't let one stand go by without a taste!

We may have binged on almost every food product produced in Massachusetts, but it was 100% worth it- and 100% local.