Food Fight!!

So, last night Fred and I were talking about food and Fred pulls out this cookbook... Specifically the More-With-Less cookbook. It was written 25 years ago, and addressed what nutritionists have only recently (in the past 5-7 years) been preaching... The majority of the US population eats too much, and really eats too much fast food - and needs to re-develop a healthy relationship with food again. "Written to challenge North Americans to consume less so others could eat enough, the book has sold an astonishing 830,000 copies since its release in 1976."

The website is really pretty good, as well, and the cookbook itself is really quite do-able - especially for those who actually are able to either work from home, or stay at home... It's currently in it's 47th printing, contains 500 recipes, and has practical substitutions and tips throughout it. While there is a bit of "God" sprinkled through it, I can handle it - after all, it was written by Mennonites... There's even recipes in there marked "T.S", meaning "time savers"... great stuff, really.

So, why bring it up? Well, it's something that links into my previous post of making myself feel better about my own choices, forgiving myself for what I've done in the past, and starting to make healthier, better choices for me and my family. There are several different cookbooks on the site, from "Simply In Season", which explores eating local, seasonal foods, to their children's cookbook on the same thing... They also have one called "Extending the Table", which pulls "recipes and stories from Argentina to Zambi, in the spirit of More-with-Less".

I had this same feeling when I left culinary school - America has really lost touch with its food. It sounds crazy when you consider that, as beings, we must eat in order to live, but it's true. We have separated ourselves so far away from the butcher block, the garden, and the fishing holes, there is no longer an understanding of what we're consuming, where it came from, or how it was created in the first place.

I want my children to understand what veggies look like as they grow, have the satisfaction physically working for their food, and taste how good it can be when picked and eaten straight from the garden. I want them to understand that it's hard work, and food should be appreciated every day. It may sound silly to many people, but there are many people in the world who have so little - we *should* feel greatful for what we have, and what we grow, and what we eat. Why not teach our children that food is a renewable resource, but one that requires work, and a relationship with the earth?

Crusade? Perhaps... On the other hand, I've always loved working in the garden and growing my own foods. I grew up that way. My parents had a HUGE vacant lot that was raised about 6 feet up, and they made a full garden out of it. We had fresh fruit and veggies every year, from early spring to late fall. Mom canned, made jam, and froze for winter. We gave away what we couldn't consume reasonably to our neighbors and those who couldn't afford as much. It felt good to be able to eat fresh blackberry pie, or baked squash, or fresh steamed carrots. I still remember how fresh snap peas taste right from the vine.



It's probably just me. I'm probably a weirdo. But I'm going to be a happy weirdo, and I'm going to have my own garden with tomatoes, carrots, squash, zuccini, beans, lettuce, potatoes and onions, and even a bunch of different herbs... There's just something about a garden - it's almost a permanent thing - and it can do wonders...

If you'd like to create your own garden, here are a few links to good websites with information on how to plan your own...

Happy reading!

~M

PS - I gotta get a BUNCH of stuff from this one: Herb Kits dot com

Ed Hume Seeds

Organic Gardening

Garden Guides

Gardening

Gardens Alive

The Herb Society

The Culinary Herb Guide

Garden Plans

Herb Garden Designs from BBG.org

Seeds Of Knowledge