There's more to Arizona-grown edibles than you might think

Think foods of the Sonoran Desert are limited to kitschy cactus candies stacked on gift shop shelves? Think again: The desert's bounty goes far beyond scorpions suspended in suckers and jellybeans packaged as "rattlesnake eggs."

"People flat out do not realize how much great local agriculture we have," says David Johnson, co-leader of SlowFood Phoenix, an organization whose members support sustainable local food systems. "There's a mistaken image of the desert as a harsh, barren place. Really, it couldn't be more different."

Our imposing mesas, arroyos and canyonlands are rich in tepary beans, cactus fruit, mesquite pods and chili peppers. Long harvested by Arizona's indigenous people, many of these native foods are undergoing a renaissance thanks to organizations like Native Seeds/SEARCH and Desert Harvesters, both Tucson-based stewards of Arizona's food heritage.

Local production of nonnative food is also taking flight: Fruit and veggies from Desert Roots Farm in Queen Creek and The Farm at Agritopia in Gilbert, among others, are being snatched up at farmers markets or, in some cases, by farm "members" who help pay farming costs in return for a share of each season's harvest.

"More and more people are becoming interested in where their food comes from," says Pamela Hamilton, editor/publisher of Edible Phoenix, a magazine about the local-food community. "Some people are concerned about their health and food safety; others really want to support the local economy. Some are interested in being environmentally responsible, and then there are people who just want to get back to traditions like having a vegetable garden or cooking at home."

Some restaurants and grocers are buying locally, too. Roaring Fork in Scottsdale purchases from One Windmill Farm in Queen Creek; AJ's Fine Foods stocks olive oil made at Queen Creek Olive Mill.

"The best chefs practicing in the Valley want the freshest ingredients," says Scott Andrews, director of West of Western Culinary Festival, a showcase of chefs held today and Sunday at the Phoenix Art Museum. "One of the styles big in the culinary arts right now is to emphasize unique, seasonal, local ingredients."

While hard-core types might become "locavores" - the Oxford American Dictionary's 2007 word of the year for people who eatfood grown or produced within 100 miles of home - for most of us eating locally isn't an all-or-nothing proposition, says Hamilton. She suggests visiting restaurants that use Arizona-grown ingredients, shopping at farmers markets, growing a vegetable you like, or joining a community-supported farm in which you pay a fee for a share of the farm's bounty.

Johnson, who's also sommelier at Sol y Sombra in Scottsdale, simply looks to the trees in his Tempe backyard. "A lot of people have olive trees, and they just let the olives fall to the ground or they spray them to get them to stop fruiting," he says. "I brine mine, and I get really good Spanish olives out of them."

He stresses that small actions can help consumers reconnect with their food.

"We're busy modern Americans, and sometimes we all need to go for the more convenient thing. But when our whole life model is based on convenience, I think we've lost something," Johnson says. "There are small things you can do that can bring a lot of pleasure back to your relationship with food and your life in general."

Eat like an insider

What: Experience Arizona's culinary scene like a true insider at a garden party featuring more than 50 of the state's top chefs, food and wine experts and writers, and other food lovers. The West of Western Culinary Festival features demos, classes and discussions set to live music, and a Desert Diversity Expo that connects festivalgoers to local-food initiatives.

When: Noon to 5 p.m. today and Sunday

Where: Phoenix Art Museum, 1625 N. Central Ave.

Cost: $77-$85 adults; $22 for children ages 9-15; free for children under age 9 with paid adult admission.

Information: (602) 257-1222 or www.westofwestern.com

Reasons to eat locally

FRESHNESS: Locally grown fruits and vegetables are usually harvested within hours of being purchased by the consumer.

TASTE: Produce picked and eaten at the height of freshness usually tastes better than something that's been rolling around in the back of a truck, ship or plane for days.

NUTRITION: Once picked, nutritional value starts to decline. The fresher the food, the higher the nutrient content.

VARIETY: Farmers who sell locally aren't bound to the few varieties that are bred for long-distance shipping, high yields and long shelf life. They can provide varieties not found in supermarkets.

ECONOMIC HEALTH: Buying locally grown food keeps money circulating in the community, contributing to the health of the local economy.

ENERGY SAVINGS: Food travels an average of 1,500 miles before ending up on our plates. Buy locally and you cut out all but a handful of those miles.

SELF-RELIANCE: Dependence on faraway food sources leaves a region vulnerable to supply disruptions. Regional food production systems keep the food supply in the hands of many, providing jobs and self-employment opportunities, and enabling people to influence how their food is grown.

LEGACY: Buying locally produced food raises the consciousness of friends and family about how food-buying decisions can make a difference at personal and community levels. This instills a "stewardship" ethic that many think is worth passing down.

Source: www.desertrootsfarm.com

Plug in to local produce

What: Spend the day touring four working farms, and cap it off with an outdoor harvest dinner prepared by chef David Traina of Gilbert's Liberty Market, during the Eating From Our Farmers' Markets Farm Tour and Dinner.

When: Farm tour begins 12:30 p.m.; dinner is at 6 p.m. March 30.

Where: Buses shuttle guests to farms in the south East Valley, including Gilbert and Queen Creek.

Cost: $20 for tour only; $85 for dinner only; $90 combined tour and dinner. Advance tickets required.

Information: (602) 361-7363 or www.ediblephoenix.com/farmtour/