Do you have a hometown farmer's market? My hometown started one two years ago. Their first year they won Best Boutique Farmer's Market in New Jersey - the Garden State. I was not only an instant fan, but also a volunteer, and definitely a shopper. Last year I recruited a mushroom farmer from across the river. I love mushrooms and so began my summertime quest to make every weekend a cooking adventure with my market purchases. Fresh tomatoes, squash, peppers, and clams ended up as stuffed things, baked things, salsa things, and other nameless things that I created and ate. My wife did the same with apples, peaches, and blueberries.

Sometimes a distant trip is not needed to find adventure and exotic foods. Sometimes they are in your own backyard. Take time to support your local farmers before they, like other precious parts of our shrinking world, begin to vanish.