It's October, and that means it's time for pumpkins, apples, and the Eat Local Challenge! For the month of October, I'll be eating almost entirely local, according to the following guidelines:

1. My definition of local: 100 miles OR distributed locally by a CSA.

2. Exemptions: Tea, olive oil, and dried spices, and, on a couple social occasions, wine and restaurant meals. And... flour— I haven't had any luck finding local flour, and for me it is the biggest impediment to eating local. The other exemptions are practically luxuries. Giving up, say, oranges, for a month is doable, but bread, noodles and crackers?! So I'll see how long I can make it before reaching for the flour bucket, but I'll say now that if I need to, I'll use my non-local flour and yeast.

3. My goals for the month: I've been eating mostly local for a while now, and I feel like this month will be akin to a final exam. While I know I'll never be 100% local (even if I could find local flour, I love ethnic restaurants, wine and exotic ingredients toooo much!), I want to see how close I can get with the local resources I've found.

By the way, I have a backlog of entries to post, so if you see some non-local stuff, just know that I'm not cheating, I made it in September!