They have lived without olive oil, chocolate, wine, bananas, coffee and maple syrup - foods that originate thousands of miles from the Beehive State and gobble up gasoline and create pollution to get here.
But today these "localvores," aren't dwelling on what they gave up, but what they have gained.
The 30-day experiment, they said, expanded their palate and cooking skills. It made them eat healthier and helped some of them lose weight. By supporting Utah businesses, they boosted the local economy and reduced the carbon imprint on the Earth.
"It's opened our eyes to what is available locally and stirred a lot of thought about what it takes to get food here," said Michael Heidinger, who works as the produce manager at Liberty Heights Fresh, a specialty market in Salt Lake City.
The "Local Food Challenge," which started Aug. 18 and ended yesterday, was conducted during the peak of Utah's growing season. That helped guarantee success for many of the participants, who started planning in July for their challenge. The group set up a blog (localfood challenge.blogspot.com) that served as a clearinghouse for finding local food products, from eggs and milk to meat and produce.
How they did it
Some non-Utah ingredients were easily substituted - Utah-made butter, for instance, was used instead of olive oil when sautéing vegetables.
Pepper - originated in India and Indonesia - was a no-no. But fresh herbs gave food flavor as did the sea salt from Redmond, Utah. And Utah honey proved just as good, or better, than sugar for sweetening pies and pancakes.
Without some sort of leavening agent, baking seemed impossible. But then a challenge member discovered that about half of all the baking soda produced by Arm & Hammer comes from the manufacturing plant in Green River, Wyoming. Boxes produced at the plant have a "ww" printed after the expiration date.
Dressing salads and vegetables was a problem until someone discovered the vinegar from Native Wines in Mount Pleasant.
Condiments were also sparse. No mustard or mayonnaise. But some participants made their own ketchup from fresh tomatoes and the Utah-produced honey, salt and vinegar.
Alcoholic beverages also proved to be a bit elusive. But there is wine from Moab and Teton Glacier vodka is made from southern Idaho potatoes and sold in most Utah liquor stores.
Even with such a large group researching and sharing ideas and sources, eating an entirely local diet was not easy. It requires planning, perseverance and time.
Going to the farmers' market, driving to far-flung locales for eggs, milk and flour not available at the corner grocery store and staying up late at night to make homemade tortillas, crackers or yogurt were all part of what it takes to eat local.
For someone who wants to continue eating local during Utah's frigid winter, it would require planning for a larger garden as well as time for canning, freezing and/or drying foods.
"I'm not going to glorify it because it does take more time and sometimes we were up late preparing things," said Andrea Heidinger, who got the idea of organizing an "eat local" challenge after reading about a similar event in Vermont.
"But we spent a lot of time in the kitchen together and had a lot of fun," she said. "And more often than not we would sit down to dinner and say "wow" this is really good."
The reasons why
Better flavor is one of the main reasons that "eat local" has become a culinary buzzword for everyone from chefs to consumers. Food that has traveled in the back of a truck for several days or has been stored in a warehouse for months loses flavor and nutritional value.
In the United States, most food travels between 1,500 and 2,500 miles from farm to table, according to the Worldwatch Institute, an international think tank for environmental and social trends.
Transporting food uses up millions of gallons of fuel each year and contributes to air and water pollution. Health experts even say outbreaks of E. coli would not be as widespread if the country relied less on mass produced farms and more on localized food systems.
In the last few years, there have been numerous books that detail why and how to eat local including: Plenty, by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon; Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver; and The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollen.
In Utah, the number of food producers has grown over the last few years. There are bread makers, cheese producers and people who raise lamb, pork and beef. For those who live along the Wasatch Front, the 250-mile radius extends into Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado which adds to the local options.
Grocery stores are also trying to supply the growing demand for local products.
Harmon's grocery stores, for example, have nearly three dozen grocery products on their shelves that are Utah-based from ice cream to flour, said co-owner Bob Harmon. Seven different Utah companies supply meat and nine different local farmers provide everything from tomatoes and watermelon to corn and green beans in season.
Harmon said even though his company is committed to providing local food, there are challenges. Finding Utah farmers is one. So much of the farm land across the Wasatch Front has been lost to residential and commercial development, limiting what is grown nearby.
The second is making sure that a small farm can get highly-perishable fruit and vegetables to the store in quality condition and on a consistent basis.
Of course, many already do, he said, "but as local [food] becomes more important to customers, it will become a more viable business."
Do what you can
There were other varying degrees of participation in the local food challenge. Some people, like the Heidingers, were purists, eating all local, all the time. Others like Susan Finlayson only did it for a week and kept a few favorite foods like imported cheese.
But she got enough local flavor to make her want to continue.
"I imagined it would be a time of famine," said Finlayson, the community education coordinator for Wasatch Community Gardens. "But it's actually been fun and I've eaten better and healthier."
Finlayson said for breakfast, instead of the usual bowl of cold cereal on the run, she made German pancakes drizzled with honey and raspberries. Another evening she roasted a lamb shoulder (from Morgan Valley Lamb) and served it with green beans and potatoes purchased at the farmers' market. She complemented it with tomatoes from the garden. She had enough food to feed her friends and to take leftover for lunch.
"One of the big surprises has been the pleasure of spending time preparing food and sharing it" said Finlayson. "I've been cooking for my roommates and everyone is excited about what I'm making."
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* KATHY STEPHENSON can be contacted at kathys@ sltrib.com or 801-257-8612. Send comments about this story to livingeditor@sltrib.com.
Quick quiche
Crust:
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold, unsalted butter
About 3 tablespoons cold water, milk or buttermilk
Filling:
4 eggs
1 cup half-and-half
2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup minced onions
Salt and garlic to taste
8 ounces cheese
Chopped kale
Mushrooms
Basil
Sliced tomatoes on top
For the crust, place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Cut butter into slices. Add butter to the processor, and process several times until the mixture is uniform and resembles coarse meal. If you don't have a food processor, use a pastry cutter or two forks instead.
Continue to process in quick pulses as you add water, 1 tablespoon at a time. As soon as the dough adheres to itself when pinched, stop adding water and turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Gather it gently into a ball.
Roll dough into a circle at least 11 inches in diameter. Ease into a 9-inch pie pan or 10-inch springform tart pan, nudging it gently into the corners. Form a generous, even edge all the way around the sides. If you're not going to use the crust right away, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze it until use.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
For filling, hand whip eggs, half-and-half and flour in a medium mixing bowl. Add onions, garlic, cheese, kale, mushrooms and basil. Pour into the unbaked crust. Bake for 45 minutes or until egg is cooked through and top is golden brown.
Remove from oven and cool. Top with tomato slices before cutting and serving.
Makes 8 servings.
Crust source: Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Cafe, by Mollie Katzen
Filling source: Elizabeth Gilroy
110-mile wheat thin crackers
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup honey
Salt for the tops, optional
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In large bowl, combine flours and salt. With a pastry cutter or 2 knives, cut butter into the flour mixture until it resembles course meal. In a separate bowl, combine milk and honey. Slowly blend milk-honey mixture into flour, using only enough liquid to form a dough that will hold together.
Divide dough into two equal parts. Roll out one ball on a floured surface or pastry cloth until it is 1/16 to 1/8 inch thick. Sprinkle with salt and gently roll into dough.
With a sharp knife cut crackers into 2-by-2-inch squares. Transfer onto ungreased baking sheet. Prick each cracker 2-3 times with a fork. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned.
Source: Andrea and Michael Heidinger
Eggplant lasagna
3 to 6 tablespoons butter
1 eggplant (diced, salted and drained, if necessary)
1 small summer squash, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 large onion, diced
Salt
2 to 3 sprigs rosemary, leaves minced
6 large tomatoes, diced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 pound fresh lasagna sheets
1 ounce goat cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 to 4 sprigs fresh parsley, leaves minced
In a large frying pan over medium heat, melt 3 tablespoons butter. Add eggplant, squash, bell pepper and onion. Season with salt. Sprinkle rosemary over mixture. Stir occasionally and cook for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook tomatoes and garlic, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes. Season with salt.
Meanwhile, in a pot of salted boiling water, cook the lasagna sheets, a few at a time, until just under al dente, 30 seconds to three minutes. Using a skimmer, transfer them to a colander. Run cold water over them to stop the cooking, drain well and lay out on damp kitchen towels until ready to use.
In a small bowl, combine goat cheese, ricotta, cream and parsley. Add salt to taste and stir until somewhat smooth.
Butter a 10-by-12-inch baking dish. Place a layer of pasta in the baking dish. Reserve 1/2 cup of the tomato mixture*. Using a slotted spoon to lift out tomatoes without the juice, layer a third of the remaining tomato mixture and a third of the eggplant mixture over the pasta in the dish. Add another layer of pasta and dot with all of the goat cheese mixture. Top with half of the remaining tomato and eggplant mixtures. Add another layer of pasta and another layer of tomato and eggplant mixtures. Top with a final layer of pasta and the reserved tomato mixture. Sprinkle with a little ricotta cheese. Bake lasagna until bubbling hot and lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Let rest 3-5 minutes before serving.
* The leftover juice from the tomato mixture can be used as a base for soup or as a marinade in your next local meal.
Source: adapted from Williams-Sonoma Pasta
Zucchini and egg fritters
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon salt
4 to 6 green onions
1 cup zucchini pulp
5 eggs
3/4 cup flour
1/2 to 1 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
Butter, for frying
Crush garlic and salt in a bowl. Add green onions. Add zucchini and eggs. Beat well with a beater, then thoroughly mix in the flour. Add parsley and mint.
In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, melt butter. Drop the mixture by tablespoonfuls into pan and cook until the fritters are golden brown on both sides, about 8 to 10 minutes total. Repeat this procedure until all the mixture is used.
Makes about 12 fritters.
Source: adapted from The Lebanese Cookbook by Dawn, Elaine & Selwa Anthon
Pecan butter
Whole raw pecans
Salt, optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using no oil, toast pecans on a rimmed baking sheet, stirring every few minutes, until browned and fragrant. Let cool.
Place nuts in a food processor and grind until very fine. Continue to process until the pecans begin to release oil, resting the motor from time to time. Process until oily and smooth. Store in an airtight jar.
Source: localfoodchallenge.blogspot.com
Easy tortillas
1 cup water
2 3/4 cup flour, plus additional for rolling
In a bowl, mix the flour and just enough water to make a dough that isn't sticky but doesn't contain excess flour either.
Pinch off a small piece of dough, about 2 inches in diameter. Dust flour a work surface and roll into a 9-inch circle.
In a dry frying pan over medium heat, cook the tortilla. When the tortilla just starts to brown, about one minute, flip and cook second side. There should be bumps/bubbles. Remove from heat and repeat process with remaining dough.
Makes 8 tortillas.
Source: Laura Judd
