While I might find it possible to eat locally in October, thousands, perhaps millions, of people are wondering, "What about December?"

I have relaxed quite a bit in my food habits--eating more pasta and rice again, going out to restaurants without feeling like a cheater.  And yet, for the most part I am still eating similarly to what was documented in Oct.

Last night we had some guests over for dinner and made it a locavore theme meal.  We like these people, so this wasn't about keeping them from coming back.  Truly, local food is great food!

I'll begin with the appetizer.

Dec 10th Appetizer

This is not the plate in its "pristine" condition.  Several paws has already claimed bits and pieces of cheese (Dry Jack from Sonoma), walnuts (from St. Helena) and persimon (from Redwood Valley).  

Having guests over is always an incentive to get your house clean.  We spent much of the day processing stacks of paper work that had accumulated on our dining room table.  By early evening we could set the table and make it look inviting.

Dec 10th Table

Marc and Suzie were our guests. Chris is staying here for a while as he gets established in Willits to help out on the Brookside Farm, part of the Energy Farm network.  Check out:  http://www.energyfarms.net/

Here's what my plate looked like before I began shoveling the food.

Dec 10th Dinner

Drank wine of different sorts, all from this part of California.  Had local tap water.  The plate features some kind of fish caught near Ft. Bragg.  Kristin made a tartar sauce that probably included non-local sauce base.  Dairy products in the potatoes and squash, like butter and sour cream, are from Clover of Petaluma.  Our backyard was the source of the beans, squash, tomatoes and potatoes.  Seasonings like garlic, basil, oregano and sage are also from our yard.  The blue potatoes are naturally that color.  I have a lot of them this year.   

So December is not that much different from late October.  We are out of the fresh summer veggies, but still have some canned, dried and frozen veggies.  Storage of potatoes and squash is really important.  In the ground we have parsnips, celeriac and jerusalem artichokes that I dig up once in a while, especially for making stews.  Fresh lettuce is available too.  I have been making a lot of late season grape juice out of Concord's.