Jalapeno cilantro cole slaw with local cabbage over pulled pork with a side of roasted local rutabagas and sweet'taters.

​As previously mentioned, last Wednesday evening I received my first box of local, organic veggies and fruits from Greenling. Problem was, I was a little skeptic at being able to work through the whole box over the weekend, particularly with requisite lard-laced Super Bowl festivities planned. Then Scott Reitz called me out..

Well, it all turned out pretty good. For me, time in the kitchen is fulfilling, so it was a win-win. I ate healthier than usual and spent less money eating out. Go figure...

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The Greenling Local Box

​Greenling is a company out of Austin that just started delivering farm-fresh produce and other foods to customers in an around Dallas. The concept is to bridge the gap between those who want to eat organic and local but don't have the time or wherewithal to attain it. And since they already operate in central and south Texas, sometimes they pull produce from those areas, adding a little variety.

Yesterday around 7 p.m., their small, refrigerated truck showed up outside my house, as scheduled, and John, dressed in overalls, brought me a bin full of fresh produce. We were giddy.

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​As part of my master plan to ravenously devour every square mile surrounding my new home in East Dallas, both culinary and culturally (picture a pink, cupcake-shaped Pac-Man character eating her way down Grand Avenue), I came upon something oddly alluring.

It was the White Rock Local Market.

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Artizone

​Supporting local farmers, ranchers, chef-driven restaurants or family-run anything is all good. But honestly? It's a beat down schlepping across all of North Texas collecting stuff from different spots. The farmer's market, Urban Acres, the cheese place, the wine place, the butcher, and what about milk? Is Braum's local enough? Four hours traversing traffic, with two hours of that time spent at stoplights and getting honked at for reading emails, pretty much takes all the fun out the best buying-local intentions. It makes you want to throw in the towel and zip through McDonald's for one of those new pumpkin pies.

But for every problem, a solution, right? Meet Artizone of Dallas. Here's how it works: Shoppers visit the website and select products from a variety of local vendors and pay just one bill. Artizone then runs about the city collecting all the goods and delivers them at a time and place chosen by the shopper.

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​With Thanksgiving just 15 days away, there are choices to make. How many pies? How much PBR? Fresh or frozen turkey?

An option that is becoming increasingly popular is the locally-raised "Heritage turkey," which must meet several criteria laid out by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC). First, they have a slow-to-moderate growth rate and reach their marketable weight in 28 weeks, allowing time for the bird to "develop strong skeletal structure and healthy organs prior to building muscle mass."

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​A story that ran in the New York Times this week detailed the resurgence of artisanal butchery in New York City. I couldn't read it and not think about Rudolph's Market in Deep Ellum. While the new young butchers are fancying up an old world craft, Rudolph's has been breaking down meat since 1895. I zipped over to the market yesterday afternoon to snap some shots and say hello to Brandon Andreason, who was working at the shop.

Andreason took the time to show me the massive end-grain butcher blocks, now deeply dished after decades of being cleaned by a sharp metal scraper. You could have poured gallons of liquid into some of them While behind the counter, the walk-in door swung open and I got a peak at whole animals, hanging on meat hooks.

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Penelope Ryholt of Pearl Brand Ice Cream

​Even though Penelope Ryholt is a professional pastry chef, at night she dreams of even sweeter things. In a light pink chef's coat that accentuates her auburn hair and ivory skin, Ryholt says: "I use to lay in bed at night and dream of the kind of ice cream I wanted but couldn't find, so I decided to start making my own."

Ryholt, whose regular gig is baker at State and Allen, soon started churning her ice cream dreams into indulgent reality. At first it was just small, personal batches, but on a visit to Urban Acres she realized the local grocery store was the perfect place for her product.

"I walked in there one day," Ryholt says, "and started talking to them about my ice cream. They really encouraged me to do this."

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​Driving through rural Mansfield, we pass by miles of green pastureland speckled with an array of trailers, big houses, small houses, pools, tanks, goats, horses and dogs. We're headed to the home of Elizabeth Preibe, who hosts a local food co-op called Life Through the Garden. Every two weeks her members make the trek out to her place to pick up their local organic fruits, veggies and other goods.

"When I joined the co-op I was looking for a source of local produce and dairy. I wanted to be closer to my food source," says member Adrienne Vaughan of Arlington. In doing so, she has completely changed the way her family eats -- for the better.

Every co-op is organized differently, but the general concept is the host gathers the food from local sources, including farmers, ranchers and bakers, and then distributes the food to members at a set place and time. It's one-stop shopping for the modern day farm advocate who is looking for a row of the tilled life in their urban homes.

Cost is usually based on a "bin" of produce, which for Life Through the Garden two weeks worth ranges from $40 to $55. Exceptions in the selection can be made, but typically one just takes what has been collected, leaving the host responsible for providing what is available locally. Things like meat, milk or eggs are ordered and priced separately.

Supplying plentiful bins throughout the year can be a challenge, though, because of the highs and lows of the seasons. Priebe aims to have a variety of growers in order to offer more options.

"Here in Texas, the growing seasons are somewhat muddled with mild winters and scorching hot summers," Priebe says, "but, currently we have seven farmers providing our co-op products. Most of the produce farmers quit in the winter because they do not have a warm place to grow. Now we have a new farmer with large green houses, which will allow us to get more produce through the winter."

But sometimes, it's just not enough. So while the goal is to purchase all local, Priebe will occasionally shop at grocery stores to ensure the bins are filled.

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​ Dallas, I've been feeling a little bit left out. You've been great to me so far: The bars are plentiful; my rent is cheap; my boss sent me on assignment to a strip club. Everything should be awesome, right? More >>