On eating locally

 Around here, whenever there is a hint of snow or ice, or if someone mentions there might be gonna be a snowflake landing somewhere in the state, everyone runs to the market to buy ingredients for French toast. If you're at work when that warning comes, all the stores will be bereft of French toast makings by the time you get to your car. Now imagine a Zombiecalypse and your local market.

Here’s an example: What’s a typical breakfast in the United States?Maybe it’s a bowl of Cheerios with milk, a banana sliced on top, and a glass of orange juice.This sounds pretty normal, right?  It’s not – it’s actually quite exotic, if you think about it.

 If you had to eat what you could acquire without the national food transport network, how likely would it be that you could replicate that breakfast?Think for just a moment about how ridiculous such a combination would have seemed to our ancestors. If you live where wheat is growing, I’m going to guess that you do not live where bananas and oranges are growing. You’ve just invalidated the typical American breakfast in that sentence.

If your food needs a passport to get to you it's not fresh. Don't necessarily agree with all the opinions of the author, but definitely some good info so go there, read. I'll wait.

So, now, if you're going to try switching to a local diet, where do you start?

Of course with your own garden, but there are quite a few things that grow wild or in the flower bed already that are edible.  For instance, hostas. Seems they are not only edible, the Japanese have been serving them for centuries. Known as urui they're commonly boiled, fried in tempura or eaten raw.

 (I've heard they taste like chicken...)

 Ok, maybe not. They're actually supposed to taste like asparagus or lettuce, depending on the type.  The Scottish forest gardener has more about them here .  PS They are toxic for cats and dogs, so don't give your pets the leftovers.

Then there are the lovely daylilies.  They are edible from the root to the flower and delicious.   And they look fabulous in the garden with little chance that your unprepared neighbor will raid you for them since most unprepared people aren't aware of their status as a culinary delicacy.

In Hong Kong, dried daylily flowers are called golden needle vegetable and in mainland China they are called golden flower vegetable. 

There are more edible flowers that will improve both your curb appeal and your food security, so get out there and dig in the dirt.  It's cheaper than a psychiatrist (and likely more helpful), will beautify your home and increase your food security.  What more could you ask?

Oh, there is one other thing to consider with gardening. Seed saving. With heirloom veg you can save seeds and continue a healthy garden for years, but there are special techniques for doing so and each vegetable is different.  At the link is a good basic guide, and some heirloom seeds for sale if you don't already have them.