When you walk through the gates at the State Fair this week, what will you eat first? Will a deep-fried Snickers bar catch your fancy? Perhaps a steaming funnel cake bathed in powdered sugar? Might the dinosauric smoked turkey legs beckon you? Or a pork tenderloin sandwich packed with slaw? Go ahead and indulge. Calories don't exist inside the gates of the State Fair, or so I've heard.

By Oct. 26 we'll be back to normal with that age-old question of what to cook.

While you're at the fair, wander past the food stands and midway rides and stick your head into the livestock arena. Walk past the prize-winning produce exhibits, talk with the bee guys, have a hush puppy. Sure, you've done it all before, but have you ever thought of all this in terms of your table?

The average meal makes a 1,500-mile trip to become your dinner. One thousand five hundred miles. That's something we need to change. It's just common sense that closer is fresher and better-tasting.

A few weeks ago, I spoke at the Biltmore Estate's first Field to Table Festival. I was intrigued by the amount of food produced on the estate that winds up in its restaurants. What the estate can't produce is found locally, and menus are driven by this process.

Here in the Triangle, we have a dozen or more restaurants already buying local products and new distribution systems to get local organic products to your kitchen. A growing system of farmers markets is taxing the farmers to sell at them all. Pastured bison and beef, heritage pork and poultry and local seasonal produce is right around the corner.

The agricultural footprint of the State Fair should inspire you in the kitchen. This idea is not political. It's about better-tasting food for you, a better return to farmers and a little environmental forgiveness.

This recipe highlights some fall favorites -- pork (try to find heritage pork), fresh cider and apples. It's quick, delicious and fairly fancy.

Recipes

Pork Chops with Apples and Cider Pan Sauce

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