Dark Days: Rice of the Prairies

Like many of the bloggers involved in The Dark Days Challenge, the cupboard is getting a little bare!  Trying to eat local throughout the winter is, I think, especially hard for those of us in colder climates.  Some of the bloggers on the West Coast, for instance, have had Farmers' Markets all winter with produce.  Yes, we've got a Farmers' Market here in the winter in the Town Centre but there has been no vegetables for quite a while.  It's where I do stock up on local honey and some baking.  If you've been reading this blog you know we've started sprouts and lettuce in the house.  We're fortunate to have a root cellar, and have kept ourselves supplied in potatoes, carrots, onions and winter squash for quite a while, but.....potatoes are all that's left.  We've also got our homegrown pork in the freezer and fresh eggs so we're doing okay.  On my foray to Two Farm Kids I found Cavena Nuda - the Rice for the Prairies and we finally cooked some up a few nights ago.  Cavena Nuda is actually a species of oat without the hull, so it can be used just like rice with additional nutritional benefits according to Wedge Farms, the producer, from Arborg, Manitoba.  Their cooking instructions say to mix half and half with rice.  So, our side dish was half local - although wild rice can be grown around Flin Flon, apparently, and although it's not 100 Mile Diet exactly, it's more local than the rice.  Two Farm Kids has it and I think we'll grab some the next time we visit.  The Cavena Nuda was very good: a bit more chewy than the rice and a good, nutty flavour.  We'll be trying it all by itself, soon, and can tell it would be great in soups and stews.  Dinner included our own Berkshire pork chops and vegetables from far, far away found at the grocery store, but at least organic selections!