Go Native!

Mesquite and Chia Seed Crackers with Prickly Pear Jelly and Goat Cheese

In conjunction with the Desert Harvester's Mesquite Milling and Watershed Management Group's Mesquite Pancake breakfast we invite you to a special themed ‘Native/Local Food Swap’ This food swap will be held at 3:00 on Sunday, November 24th, during a full day of events in the Dunbar Springs Neighborhood. 

This swap will be a great opportunity to exchange some of your items made from locally grown or foraged foods for exciting products made by others who are enthusiastic and knowledgeable about our desert bounty. To participate in the swap, your items need not be entirely local but should highlight food grown in our region. Products using either native/foraged and/or locally grown foods are welcome. To sign up, please register each person who will be swapping goods so that we can plan the space accordingly. As always, please let us know if you have to cancel so that we can open you spot for someone else.

You can sign up HERE.

Granny Pantries

Fennel Liqueur,  Preserved Lemons, Sauerkraut, Limoncello

After a long steamy day in the kitchen with the canning pot boiling away, it isn't hard to imagine why supermarket, convenience foods grew to be so popular.  You can only imagine the relief to the toil our grandmothers endured that the new frozen and processed foods offered. We are lucky enough to live in a time when we have so many options in our food choices.  Often these food choices however, have left many of us wanting.  As we grow more attached to local and seasonal food offerings we have found ourselves drawn to the notion of "putting up" the bounty of the season.  Canning classes are appearing around the country.  You can find a panoply of food preservation books with unusual and artisanal recipes to stock your larder.  Conversations abound at Farmer's Markets and CSA's (Community Supported Agriculture) about how to process the surplus to enjoy later.  We are collectively bringing back Granny Pantries!

My pantry is imperfect, often weighted heavily in the jam and marmalade territory with a smattering of pickled beets and okra.  I'm lucky that our winter survival doesn't depend on what I've put up.  I do on the other hand, have a great selection of gift options or fun add ons to a bigger meal…. or offerings for a local Food Swap.

The idea of Food Swapping is both revolutionary and ancient.  I can take my extra pantry items and trade them, making my pantry more diverse.  Before I sat down to write this post I had friends over for dinner.  We had a "Build your Own Sandwich Night".  I made bagels, an item which I have "swapped" in the past.  The sandwich bar included homemade horseradish and tomato jam that I received at the last swap.  My friend shared dill pickles that she plans on bringing to the next Food Swap.  The meal was delicious for sure but even more special was the thought of all the people who had made it possible.  I wouldn't have found that kind of story in the aisles of the supermarket.

So come join us at a Food Swap and share your offerings. Our next Swap is April 6th  Sign up here.  Together we will find that Granny Pantries are pretty cool.

New Year Food Swap

Happy New Year!


With the holidays behind us we are finally ready for another Food Swap. This month the Food Swap will be held on Sunday, January 27th at 10 a.m. Bring your food to swap and, if you like, plan to stay after the swap to enjoy a light brunch and good company.

The swap will be held in a central location, and you will receive a reminder e-mail with location information mid-week before the swap. As usual we ask you to please register (click here for the registration link) so we can plan space accordingly.

If this is your first Food Swap, be sure to check out the FAQ page to find out more about how a swap works. If you would like to receive invites to future swaps, please sign up for the Food Swap Tucson mailing list.

See you soon!!