Everyone knows it is cold outside.  And, even Kingsolver admits that January is the toughest time to find good local fare that really refreshes your body and soul.  At least I have been cooking some more “home-made with love” dishes.  As a result, in my house this week, it’s leftover time.  We have meatloaf, chili, and some balsamic glazed chicken to gobble up.  All the leftover meat couldn’t have come at a better time, either, since more snow storms loom over Ohio.

It’s good to have all the meat available, but I found that buying meat at the grocery store can be really difficult.  There are all sorts of packages that say things like Happy Valley Chicken or labels that use the word natural.  Part of what I’ve learned from Kingsolver’s book is that those labels can be misleading.  Even the assumed safe note of “Free Range” might not even mean much if it comes from the grocery store.  It’s already hard to be a smart consumer these days, but now I feel like I’m going to need to investigate even more about where all of my food derives.  I grew up near farms, but in the surburban wonderland of my youth, it never occured to any of us to ask one of the neighbors for some produce or poultry.  Now, most of those farms have been torn down for condominiums or apartment complexes.  It’s tragic to see formerly beautiful fields now covered with shabby dwellings that probably won’t be sustainable for long.  I wonder if, in Ohio, markets are the only way to really know for sure the truth about what you eat.  And, I wonder how long the few small farms that are left will be able to survive.