Eating Local Food

At the Ann Arbor Farmers' Market local food has always been a superb summer possibility with a large variety of Michigan fruit and vegetables. A variety of cut flowers and garden plants are well-adapted to conditions here, as well as adding beauty and color to the market.

I haven't been managing to shop here regularly for a while, but today we got up early. We arrived when parking spaces were still easy to find and crowds were thin. (In fact, we made the ironic observation that the on-average heavier people seemed to be arriving as we were leaving; we have no idea why this seemed to be the case.)

Many years ago, farmers brought in chickens that they had raised, slaughtered, and cleaned themselves; also eggs. One or another authority denied them the right to do so. However, for the past five years or so, some local beef, lamb, buffalo, goat, and poultry raisers have found ways to comply, and we have some lamb chops which come from a farm along M-52 between Chelsea and Stockbridge, an area we know well. The farmer who sold them to us explained how she had selected a slaughterhouse that is legal and meets her requirements for cleanliness as well. The chops are frozen.

Later -- we defrosted them, sauced them, put them on the Webber grill, and ate them for dinner. They were marvelous.