Hi Dangerouschicken,
actually yes I *have* been reading this whole thread, and that's why I haven't said anything til now -- because it's seemed like you were deciding that certain things (like coffee) were important enough to you to be exempt from the locavore thing. Which I can understand (tho for me it would be chocolate not coffee - I don't WANT to be that awake in the morning <g>)
What meant to be asking was just, I suppose, how bartering eggs for coffee is any different or better than just whipping out your wallet and buying it regular-style.
Perhaps I'm misunderstanding, though, and the fact that your bartering eggs for coffee (as opposed to buying it) is actually just a, what would you call it, coincidence, rather than being a necessary condition for coffee consumption?
Alaska animal lover, I was not intending to criticize anyone for eating more locally produced food. I try to do that too, you know, although without books and terminology and angst <vbg> I was just trying to find out if there was some rationale here that I was missing for this aspect of it -- the sort of 'gaming the system' -sounding part. But as I say, maybe I misunderstood the point of that. I dunno.
(edited to add: and Dangerouschicken is ENTIRELY right that freezing is much better than drying for many, perhaps most, herbs. Some of which in fact are just not worthwhile to dry at all. If you've got a freezer running anyhow, may as well fill the wee nooks and crannies with basil, if you ask me. Think of it as an economizing measure to keep the freezer running microscopically more efficiency by having it be microscopically fuller
)
Pat
