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

So much to read about!

So... I've decided to separate them out into different posts, so I can label them all - for those who'd like all their news in one chunk, sorry - my sudden Piscean OCD has kicked in and I must separate the information into the componants that they need to be in. LOL.

First up - In the past 40 days, I've gotten some pretty good books that I think others would like... At least, if they're history freaks like I am. *chuckle* See, I adore history. I specifically love world history, and the times that literally shook the world into a new era - like the Tudor era in England. Amazing stuff, that.

I had been realizing that while I've been blowing through books lately, they've been of the brain-fluff kind. And while that's enjoyable to blow through while riding for an hour on the bus to and from work, it's not conducive to any sort of brain function. And I was spending WAAAAY too much money on brain-fluff that wasn't lasting NEARLY as long as I'd like for it to. SO - what I have currently to go through are the following 4:

The Six Wives of Henry VIII - Alison Weir: Three Katherines, Two Anns and a Jane - If you're interested in the Tudor age at all, or why Elizabeth was SO amazing, this is a good book for you to look through. Alison Weir, known to be one of the foremost writers on the Tudor era, looks at each of Henry's six wives in turn, as well as the changes being made within the political, social, and religious forum of the day due to Henry's ever-changing appetites. It goes into immense detail of their daily lives, their interactions with Henry and the other courtiers, and includes pictures as well. The book also contains a really good time-line of occurances, from the Tudor takeover from the Plantaganets up through the ascension of Elizabeth to the throne. It's a fascinating look at how each of the women were both treated by Henry, and helped him shape their own "known world" with their actions. I've only gotten through most of Katherine of Aragon, Henry's first wife - but it's exceptional reading.

The Honest Courtesan - Margaret F Rosenthal: This is a more "realistic" view of Veronica Franco's life than that of "Dangerous Beauty". The back states that it goes through Franco's cultural, social, and economic world, and combines the resources of biography, history, literary theory, and cultural criticism to present her life. I have not yet read it, but I am looking forward to it. Veronica Franco is one of my heros (thus the name of my blog, here), and while I thought that "Dangerous Beauty" was lovely, I knew there was SO much more - and so much different - about her life than what Hollywood chose to create. I can't wait to chew through this one.

Unsolved Mysteries of History - An Eye-opening investigation into the most baffling events of all time - Paul Aron: I've been browsing through this book as I feel the need. It's a great factual account of 25 different mysteries witihn history, from ancient to contemporary times. It includes factual information, questions previous suggestions made by others who sought to "solve" the mystery, and leaves it open in the end to draw your own conclusions. Quite well written, and recommended as a fun "bathroom" or "coffee-table" book.

What Are The Seven Wonders Of The World? And 100 Other Great Cultural Lists - Fully Explicated - Peter D'Epiro and Mary Desmond Pinkowish: I am always looking for new and (most likely) useless trivia information. If you're one too, you'll like this book. It's separated by the number of the answers you'll be looking at within the subject, and then breaks down each of the individual answers and gives detailed information regarding them... For instance: The children of Adam and Eve were? (The Chapter of 3's, question 1) Cain, Abel, Seth... It then gives detailed information regarding each one based on biblical accounts from the Old Testament, with comments from each of the authors regarding why (and why not) the information had been included in the bible. There's a great forward that is also worth reading, as it explains why they chose the format of the book in the way they did. I have been going through this book since I picked it up just before Christmas. It reminds me of something my father would have LOVED to have had, if only to spring random trivia on people.

So, there you have it - those books which I am currently reading... There are more that I'd like to get, but they're on my Amazon wish list, so they'll have to wait.

~M