On a cool rainy morning this month I had the pleasure of attending one of the “Victorian Breakfast” events at the Villa Louis. I wouldn’t exactly call myself a history buff, but learning about the ins-and-outs of daily life in a late 1800’s home (and, I’ll admit, learning to cook on a cast iron wood stove) was delightful.

Even more enchanting was the menu, comprised almost entirely of local, seasonal foods; fresh fried catfish with “piccalilli,” (a delicious chutney canned from last years harvest), jelly omelets, locally raised bacon, homemade rice waffles with real maple syrup, homemade cocoa and coffee. These days there’s a lot of talk about getting back to the home life basics; cultivating our collective memory about how to make use of the foods we have and store or can the rest.

The breakfast was a great reminder of the culinary bounty that’s right here at our fingertips here at the junction of many rivers. In celebration of these gifts I’d like to encourage you all to support our local farmers markets (Prairie du Chien, Marquette-McGrgeor, Gays Mills, Ferryville, and Viroqua) and the farmers and fishermen who have brought fresh foods to Crawford County supper tables for hundreds of years.