Creating a truly local meal–where every part of the meal is produced locally–can be a challenge, but once you get into it, it is also quite addictive. It takes a bit of a mind shift – to look at the harvest first, then let the imagination run wild, and lastly find a recipe for final inspiration.
Traditional recipes have often been developed around harvest time, so finding recipes from somewhere with a climate similar to your own is a great place to start. We now have access to so many plants from different parts of the world that we can get creative, mixing and matching cultural tastes while eating from our own gardens.
When you consider the harvest first, you need to start by looking deeper into what is actually available in the garden, often using plants, and parts of plants, that are otherwise overlooked. This may mean using the same ingredients every day for weeks, so getting creative becomes increasingly important.