Pip's Plate

Have you heard of the 100 Mile Challenge? In 2005, Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon began a one-year experiment in local eating. Think about that: everything they ate had to come from within a 100-mile radius from where they lived. That morning cup of coffee you have every morning? Unless those beans are grown within 100 miles of you, forget it. It doesn’t matter that they might be roasted 100 miles from you; if they didn’t grow 100 miles from you, then it’s off the table.

The 100 Mile Challenge gained in popularity and members of their local community participated in their own version for 100 days. There is currently a documentary on The Discover Channel following these community members. More about the 100 Mile Challenge tv show here.

You can take the pledge and do your own research, but how about starting with answering the question “What is my 100 mile radius?”

Here’s mine:

And you can find yours here

What would be difficult to live without? How would you find what you’re looking for? This really makes you think about where your food comes from.

I know I wouldn’t have a problem getting wine

In the most recent issue of Bon Appetit magazine (Feb 2009), they have a really great article on 50 Easy Ways to Eat Green.

What I discovered is Text Fishphone – it’s utterly brilliant! It’s the easiest way to find out what fish at your local grocery store is good for you (mercury levels, farming methods) and good for the environment (sustainable, farming methods). And it’s so simple: text 30644 and enter FISH, followed by the name of the fish you want to buy. It’ll return a text telling you if it’s a good one or not.

This is genius. Two brothers in Maine have established a business called “Catch a Piece of Maine” which allows people to become a partner and receive all the lobsters caught in a lobster trap in one year – all for the mere cost of $2,995.

These partners can also check out how their lobster trap is performing throughout the year by checking in online.

They even tout how it supports local fishermen:

Catch a Piece of Maine’s community supported fishery model directly supports lobsterman and the working waterfront of Maine. Your support allows lobstermen to receive a premium for their product at a time when external economic factors make it hard to make a living from the sea.

I recently took a trip to Sonoma County in California with a friend of mine. We stayed with relatives who live in Healdsburg. They happen to have a pretty slick wine storage system:

These cabinets pull out from underneath the stairs. As you can see, you can fit quite a few bottles of wine in one “drawer.” The inside is made of plastic tubes just big enough to hold a bottle of wine snug.

One drawback to this wine storage unit is that you can’t control the storage conditions. No temperature or humidity gauges. That would be the next step up for this storage unit. Living in wine country definitely requires some sort of mass wine storage. Unless you can afford a cellar, this is a great space saving option. Just be careful when you get a lot of wine bottles in one of the drawers. It gets really heavy and can potentially scratch your floors. So keep it light: drink wine often.