Indianapolis Archives

You know… this blogging thing is pretty fun.

Last month Adam and I wrote about what growing food has done for us past, present and future. But, writing about growing food has been pretty cool too. Giving homegrown and local food a voice in Indiana and beyond has opened doors, shown me new concepts and products, and introduced me to a lot of neat people. People who are creative and really shaking things up in the local food scene.

Just last month I was introduced to a neat and innovative concept out of Indianapolis called Fresh Artistry. Fresh Artistry delivers recipes and fresh, pre-portioned ingredients to your home. The owner, Tom Blessing, began to develop the Fresh Artistry concept in late 2012 because he knew he wanted to make cooking at home easier, fresher, and more delicious. He is finally launching his Fresh Artistry service to the Indy Metro area on Friday, December 5th.

As a member of Fresh Artistry you will receive the components of three meals of your choice each week to your door step along with step by step instructions for the cooking process. Tom designed Fresh Artistry to help anyone prepare nutritious, restaurant quality meals in their own home while supporting local farmers.

Obviously, this sounded like something right up my alley.

I love the idea of connecting consumers with local growers but also helping them make wonderful meals for their families. Adam also thought the company sounded great. We both were very interested in learning more so I got in touch with Tom.

I was curious to know where the produce and proteins in the Fresh Artistry meals come from. Tom shared that he is sourcing meat from Moody’s Meats, a leading Indianapolis Butcher that partners with local Indiana producers and raises meat at their own family farm. Moody’s Meats is striving to create a truly local, sustainable food supply.

The meat within Fresh Artistry meals are hormone, preservative and antibiotic free. The produce is frequently organic and local when possible. In fact, Tom is working to make even more connections with local produce growers.

In addition to being responsibly sourced and full of high quality ingredients, the product is fabulous.

A couple nights after Adam and I met with Tom and talked about local food producers, we made Fresh Artistry’s Sweet Chili Beef Strips and Fresh Vegetables.

I was so impressed. The packaging was beautiful. Ingredients were well labeled and had images on them noting where they should be stored. And, I really loved that all the ingredients were portioned out to what was needed in the recipe so that I wasn’t buying a whole bunch of cilantro only to have it sit in my fridge for weeks.

Adam and I read over the recipe together before we began cooking. I have not seen a recipe that thorough in a long time. As we cooked, following the recipe step by step, Adam looked at me and smiled. “It’s dummy proof!” he exclaimed.

It was. The steps were easy to follow and the whole preparation process took us maybe twenty minutes.

Adam took pride in plating the meal “just like the picture.”

Rarely is our plating anything to take pride in and it’s mainly because I just don’t take the effort to do it. The large photo of the dish showing us what went where made it a piece of ~~cake~~ art.

Pretty close!

The meal tasted great and the portions were right on. We both had another serving for lunch the following day.

I enjoy cooking, especially with local ingreidents, so I make an effort to try new recipes, seek out local producers and cook at home. But, because of my career, books I have read and people I have talked with, I know that there are plenty of people who really don’t like cooking.

Maybe it’s because they feel like they are bad at it.

Or planning a meal takes too much time.

Maybe shopping is hard because they don’t know where to get the best ingredients for their families.

Maybe they feel like they just don’t know where to begin.

Fresh Artistry is a great solution.

It takes the time spent meal planning and shopping completely out of the equation. The Fresh Artistry website is incredibly easy to use and it’s there that you do your “shopping.” You are able to select which meals you would like delivered and they change each week.

Even I found myself thinking, “Wow. This is nice,” the night Adam and I planned to prepare our Fresh Artistry meal as I left the gym and could just go home. Normally, I would have to swing by the grocery store to pick up “one more thing” needed for dinner that night.

And, to top it off. It’s easy. Fresh Artistry’s instructions are simple and straight forward making it so anyone can cook like a master chef in their own kitchen.

Be sure to check out the Fresh Artistry website. They are offering a one time meal box for a limited time. Perfect to test it out or for a Christmas gift!

Both Adam and I work for small businesses, so we don’t have traditional 401K’s, matching or life insurance programs that larger corporations offer. We know these things are important so we have made a connection with an investment company out of Indianapolis and have started making plans for retirement.

We meet with the investor reps about once every six months in Indianapolis. These meetings are typically over two hours long and full of, what seems like, really big decisions.

By the end, we are both pretty brain fried and really ready for an adult beverage.

After our last meeting in early May we decided to have dinner at The Local Eatery and Pub on the north side in Westfield.

We first went to The Local a couple months ago with Adam’s sisters and their friends and spouses. I was coming from a catering event so I was running late. That night the rest of the group waited for me to order entrees but did order a few of the many appetizers and drinks.

I was rushed and a bit frazzled as I arrived because I felt bad that everyone was waiting for me, but I was able to see The Local’s laid back, rustic and simple vibe as soon as I got the table.

Beers, sodas, and some cocktails were served in mason jars. And, the cheese board, complete with seasonal fruit, brie, prosciutto and crostini, was served on a large butcher block.

That night, Adam ordered the chicken on a wire, which was free range local chicken with a fried egg. Adam has become a huge fan of any thing topped with a fried egg. We have done them on burgers, salads and I would love to try it on pizza.

I had the pulled turkey sandwich. It was slightly spicy thanks to the chimichurri sauce, but well balanced with melted smoked Gouda cheese.

I loved the feel of the place and we all had a great time.

This most recent visit, when it was just the two of us, I had more time to take it all in.

That is, after I ordered a glass of chardonnay… my mind was still thinking numbers, the dollars we need to save if we were to live until 95 and about what would happen if one of us were to become disabled, handicapped or worse.

… Chardonnay clears those things from the mind and makes it everything better.

I was able to notice and appreciate the large chalkboard displaying the local farms featured on the constantly changing specialties section of the menu.

I was also able to learn more about the story of The Local. The restaurant opened in 2011 and is located near many of the popular suburbs of Indianapolis like Carmel, Westfield and Noblesville. The Local’s goal is to support and feature local farmers and artisans in order to build a strong local economy. They also love to be a part of the Farm to Table genre because it helps to reduce their environmental footprint.

Their website lists their farm and artisan partnerships and the menu explains their relationships and passion for Farm to Table.

In addition to my wine and Adam’s local Sunking beer, we ordered the baked goat cheese.

(If you are new here… Hi! Welcome and thanks for reading! And, just so you know, I like cheese… a lot.)

It was great. The cheese was baked with roasted garlic cloves and olive oil and served with toasted bread to put the slightly melty cheese spread on.

Adam ordered the same sandwich. He loves it. It looked great and is always on The Local’s menu. He also loves their homemade buns.

I ordered the seasonal specialty which was a white fish with beans, oyster mushrooms and a ramps sauce. I was sold on the entrée thanks to the ramps.

My parents are part of a tiny CSA near their home in Michigan. I say “tiny CSA” because it’s just one farmer, but my mom has always loved natural food and local farmers. It’s only natural that she has developed connections with this grower. At Easter, Adam and I were up at my parent’s home on the coast of the lake and she had received her first CSA from him of the season.

Ramps were in this first CSA. I had never seen or tasted ramps, but they are really interesting.

Ramps are sort of a leek, onion, and garlic combo and can be found in the spring. They are technically a wild onion but they look similar to a green onion and have a garlic odor. In cooking, they are pretty versatile. They can be cooked in any recipe that calls for green onions or leeks. My mom even just tore some up and put it in a spring green salad at Easter.

The dish was wonderful so I asked the waitress where the ramps were from. She didn’t know, but said she would find out. However, the girl didn’t come back to our table with any answers.

And, that’s my only minor complaint about this very unique and influential restaurant. They list which farms they partner with, but don’t say what is local and what comes from one particular farm or another. If it was my place, I would make sure the staff was prepared for questions and knew about the food they were serving. Or, at least had points of reference in the back of the house if a question was asked so they could easily find the answer.

But, everything else was excellent on both our visits. The staff was friendly and accommodating. The atmosphere is a perfect combination of rustic and approachable for the everyday. The food was great.

The Local is a great place in Indy that is making a great effort to support the community and local farmers. I am proud and eager to support a restaurant that makes this kind of effort.

Be sure to do the same if you are in the area!

The Local Eatery and Pub
14655 N. Gray Road
Westfield, IN 46062

http://localeateryandpub.com/

Home Cooking Made Easy and Local With Fresh Artistry

Eating Like a Local at The Local