There are lots of reasons to eat local. It boosts the economy in our neck of the woods. It yields fresher and tastier foods than what you can find in the supermarket fridge. And, it’s kind to Mother Earth.

Tammy Donroe gets all this, and she’s doing her part to promote local feasting through her witty and enlightening blog, Food on the Food, in which she playfully documents her adventures both inside and outside the kitchen. A freelance writer, mother of two and, most importantly for us, a food lover, Donroe doesn’t just advocate eating local for the obvious reasons. She also has a personal investment in the movement: as a cancer survivor, Donroe is now more aware than ever of what she and her family consume. Like so many of us, Donroe just doesn’t trust what’s being pumped into food these days. She tries to feed her family naturally raised, wild-caught, and locally grown ingredients as often as possible. And sometimes, the food on her table is über local, as in her own backyard.

In May of 2009, Donroe started cultivating four shiitake mushroom logs, which she expanded this summer to a full-blown mushroom garden, with more logs and even more mushroom spawn (this time though, Donroe is growing oyster mushrooms and maitake mushrooms). It takes about a year for mushrooms to bloom into usable and delicious adulthood, so patience is a necessary virtue here. But good things come to those who wait. Donroe showcases her fungi in a perfect-for-fall mushroom barley soup and in her sautéed shiitake mushroom fettuccine with butter and garlic and general yumminess.

While Donroe has triumphed in the mushroom arena of her garden, not all is fair in love and gardening. So, to make up for lost herbs and vegetables, Donroe frequents local farms and shops for other ingredients, which she lists at the end of each post.

Donroe’s humor, recipes, beautiful (and mouthwatering) pictures and, most importantly of all, her willingness to have fun with food make Food on the Food a worthy weekly read.