It’s kai-oat (coyote), not kai-oat-ee (coyotee). It’s a highway, not a freeway, and dang it, it’s a crick, not a creek. And yes, sir, Montana is a state. Nine months ago, I made the move from Montana to California. As a prime example of why one should never leave the safety and camaraderie of organic, sustainable realms of people, or associate within anyone outside of a Trader Joe’s when not in farm country, upon having been asked where I was from and responding, “Montana,” I have been met with the response “Is that a state?” twice now.

I’ve always found freshly baked bread is comfort food of the highest order. There is something reassuring about the aroma of baking bread as it fills my kitchen and floats through the rest of my home. If I make a loaf early in the morning, I can almost guarantee that it will be devoured before the end of the day (with a little help from some little mouths in my house). And because I think about these thins, I began to wonder if I could find local flour to for my bread baking. After all I can find vegetables, fruits, eggs, dairy, and honey, could I do the same for flour? As it turns out the answer is, yes.

Naturalist, author, and environmental educator “Wildman” Steve Brill,America’s go-to guy for foraging, has just released a master series of foraging apps, WildEdibles, that will give iPhone users the in-depth information they need to identify, ecologically harvest, and use 165 of the best wild edible and medicinal plants of North America, plus essential details of 52 look-alikes. The focus will be on eastern species, but half the plants and many more very similar close relatives that are also edible grow across the country.

It’s a reflex by now: I look out the train window and mentally check off the edible and medicinal plants I see. Today there’s burdock, red clover blossoms, dandelions, plantain, wild carrot, nettles. All of those are edible and medicinal as well. Food? Check. Field first aid? Check. There’s a baseline security to being able to identify wild edible and medicinal plants.

Getting raw milk is a little bit like trying to get marijuana in this country: it’s legal in some states, and a lot of people will give you wary looks if you talk about it too much in public. In the states where it is illegal, most authorities don’t go to too much trouble to stop you using it, but every now and then a reliable supplier will suddenly go out of business for no good reason. You need weird excuses and reasons to purchase it legally. In Florida, for example, raw milk is only sold for consumption by pets, and I know there are a lot of real food enthusiasts down there whose dogs and cats are apparently living well on rich, unpasteurized milk.

I’ve fallen in love with lacto-fermented chutneys, so much so that I’m considering turning all the vinegar-based chutneys I canned into ketchup (ketchup is basically just pureed chutney). The flavor of these fresh chutneys is so good that I could, and do, eat them straight out of the jar. Plus you get all sorts of health benefits that aren’t in the vinegar versions; lacto-fermented foods have good-for-you bacteria in them, like with yogurt.

The recipe below is a Northeastern locavore’s variation on one by Sally Fallon (I swap in just a little vinegar to replace non-local lemon juice, and local honey instead of Rapadura). This chutney is an especially good use up for the storage apples we’re still getting from local farms at this time of year. But it’s also good made with peaches, cherries, and other fruit.

Saturdays are my market days and while it may seem odd, late winter is actually one of my favorite times of year at the farmer’s market. As you stroll past the tables week after week, more and more vendors setup shop as the spring approaches.

“What do you eat in winter?” is a question I frequently get asked when people learn that I eat a mostly local foods diet in the Northeastern U.S.

My reply starts with the fact that I eat just as well in winter as I do in summer. That fact really cheers me up right now. We are at the tail end of winter, but it will still be many weeks until the first spring crops are ready. If I only ate the storage and greenhouse crops available year-round here, well, I’d survive but my meals would be really boring.

Here’s how you can make your “off season” meals as interesting and nutritious for you as the ones you eat during the harvest months, all the while keeping a locavore’s lowered carbon footprint:

The early sunset shadows, cast by the mountains to the west, spread across the city of Boulder, Colorado, bringing with them thoughts of dinner. Idyllic Boulder, with its youthful spirit, adventurous tendencies, and environmental awareness, is the perfect spot for the conscientious diner. The city is full of choices, from college friendly fast-food to health conscious fine-dining, and even a milk and cookies specialty restaurant! With so many choices available, how does one choose? How would you choose? If sustainable, locally sourced food is on your mind, then have your feet carry you across the glowing historic downtown area and through the doors of The Kitchen.

So here we are in the gut of winter, many snowed in, perhaps going stir crazy (as I often do under such conditions). The pundits say variety is the spice of life, but sometimes the harsh winter weather limits that range of ability… unless you’re in the kitchen.