I don't want this site to be another blog about "what I had for dinner". That whole vein seems rather silly ‘cause, in the long run, who really cares? However, I do have broader ideas about food that I think are important to share.
Eating local food is important for me. It is a priority, more so than eating organically. I prefer to eat organic, but it is cost prohibitive for a poor artist. Eating locally, if well planned, is very affordable. I want to touch on this further, probably Thursday when I talk about blueberry picking.
There seems to be a bourgeoning segment of the organic consumer which eats organic on an instinctual level. They know it's better for them and they can afford it, so they buy it, but they really put very little thought into what it is to eat healthy. I've lately been trying to think beyond organic. I want to figure out a personal approach (or even philosophy) towards food. I know that I want to eat locally whenever possible, I feel healthier when I do, but why is that? I don't think that it is psychosomatic. Obviously it is fresher, but that is a superficial answer. I think the real reason is that when I eat local food, I am eating seasonally. I can't buy local watermelon in March.
Everything elemental in life comes in cycles. Tides, tree leaves, trendy jean designs - all of it is cyclical by nature. Historically humans ate whatever was readily available. They probably didn't understand nutrition like we do, but I can't think of a food that was around 150 years ago which is bad for you. Hell, I'd take lard over Crisco any day.
So how do we eat seasonally? I don't think it should be a strict thing. I'm going to grow lettuce in my closet in the non-summer seasons. But generally, eating seasonally means going heavy on produce in the spring/summer/autumn months, and heavy on meat, cheese and bread in the winter. Only in recent years have we been able to get great apples from New Zealand in February. This might be a nice treat occasionally, but the environmental cost should keep it an occasional treat for anyone with a conscious.
Like I said, I don't want this site to be another blog about "what I had for dinner", but seriously, check out my dinner. It was totally seasonal. 3 plums, 20 red cherries and ½ of a honeydew melon. How awesome is that? Hydrating, delicious, and no cooking on a 90 degree day. You can't do better than that.
What I had for Dinner
I don't want this site to be another blog about "what I had for dinner". That whole vein seems rather silly ‘cause, in the long run, who really cares? However, I do have broader ideas about food that I think are important to share.
Eating local food is important for me. It is a priority, more so than eating organically. I prefer to eat organic, but it is cost prohibitive for a poor artist. Eating locally, if well planned, is very affordable. I want to touch on this further, probably Thursday when I talk about blueberry picking.
There seems to be a bourgeoning segment of the organic consumer which eats organic on an instinctual level. They know it's better for them and they can afford it, so they buy it, but they really put very little thought into what it is to eat healthy. I've lately been trying to think beyond organic. I want to figure out a personal approach (or even philosophy) towards food. I know that I want to eat locally whenever possible, I feel healthier when I do, but why is that? I don't think that it is psychosomatic. Obviously it is fresher, but that is a superficial answer. I think the real reason is that when I eat local food, I am eating seasonally. I can't buy local watermelon in March.
Everything elemental in life comes in cycles. Tides, tree leaves, trendy jean designs - all of it is cyclical by nature. Historically humans ate whatever was readily available. They probably didn't understand nutrition like we do, but I can't think of a food that was around 150 years ago which is bad for you. Hell, I'd take lard over Crisco any day.
So how do we eat seasonally? I don't think it should be a strict thing. I'm going to grow lettuce in my closet in the non-summer seasons. But generally, eating seasonally means going heavy on produce in the spring/summer/autumn months, and heavy on meat, cheese and bread in the winter. Only in recent years have we been able to get great apples from New Zealand in February. This might be a nice treat occasionally, but the environmental cost should keep it an occasional treat for anyone with a conscious.
Like I said, I don't want this site to be another blog about "what I had for dinner", but seriously, check out my dinner. It was totally seasonal. 3 plums, 20 red cherries and ½ of a honeydew melon. How awesome is that? Hydrating, delicious, and no cooking on a 90 degree day. You can't do better than that.