I was going to title this post "Things That Make me Go 'Yum'," but often people don't get my little jokes, so I thought I would be more specific.
My food adventures go back to….hmmmm…let's say 1992, when I first went away to college (Go Aggies!) and discovered a curious little brown bread. "What is this?" I asked my roommate, and best friend.
She probably replied, something to the affect of, "Dumbass, it's wheat bread." Hmmm… wheat bread, you say? Curious little oddity.
OK, I am not that clueless. But I honestly have no memory of being introduced to wheat bread, growing up. I don't remember much in the way of meals from scratch. My parents were divorced when I was 5 and I think part of the chaos of going from a dual to single parent household meant that things like family dinners fell through the cracks. Now, if you are a single parent and you want to raise your hand and say, "Not for me/us!" that is wonderful. And I totally admire your commitment. But I am really just talking about my experience. I am sure that is not the same experience everyone had.
I remember eating TV dinners on those little fold out trays specifically meant for eating in front of a TV. Can you imagine going to someones house these days and seeing their kid parked in front of the TV, eating dinner whenever they fancy, on one of those collapsible tables?
How times have changed!
More after the jump!
I came into the experience of growing my own food very much an innocent. I live in California, I can grow anything, right? At anytime of the year, right? That was my first experience gardening. I had packets of seeds. I threw them in the ground, and I waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Those plants that did come up, never did bear any fruit. Well, hmph! What the heck was that all about?
Thus I embarked on a journey of learning what it means to create ones own food, and not taking it for granted. Food doesn't just sprout. It is grown. It is loved.
I was reminded of my own food journey, reading the latest pick of the From Left to Write Bookclub, Myra Goodman's The Earthbound Cook: 250 Recipes for Delicious Food and a Healthy Planet.
Myra, along with her husband Drew, are the co-owners of Earthbound Farm, the largest organic produce brand in North America. You would think that their organic empire was something that was planned from the beginning, but like anything meant-to-be, it just sort of happened. With a lot of hard work, I am sure.
I was smitten reading about how these New York City transplants happened upon organic farming as a hobby and later a business. Like me, they didn't grow up producing their food, and as a result were skeptical of the idea of pesticides. When you're trying to figure out how to grow food, the idea of spraying it with a pesticide is a bit over-whelming. Could you imagine dipping your carrot into petrol and then telling someone, "No worries. Just rinse it off with water." When you've never grown food, and are faced with that choice, it's a little, well, how do I say this? EFFING CRAZY!!!
Buying food from a grocery store allows people the luxury of mental separation. But I tell you, grow your own, and you'll likely go organic.
Over the last twenty-five plus years, the Goodman's curiosity and commitment to farming brought organic food to everyday people, while educating people about the importance of organic.
The Earthbound Cookbook is assured messy, food-splatted cookbook status in my kitchen thanks to the use of real foods and vegetables straight from the farm (or garden, or produce section). After all, when you receive a boatload of kale through your CSA, and have no idea what to do with it, the Campbell's Soup Cookbook isn't going to be of much help.
Last week, Linsey Krolik of Me Too You and From Left to Write and Jane Maynard of This Week for Dinner, co-sponsored an evening of food celebration and good times. All of the guests brought recipes from The Earthbound Cookbook. I brought the Yam and Winter Squash Casserole from page 232. I used butternut squash straight from the garden.It was a delish and would be a wonderful accompaniment to Thanksgiving dinner.
Other items that I remembered from the dinner include:
Pumpkins stuffed with quinoa, butternut and cranberries (YUM with a beautiful presentation),
Fennel, Apple and Radish Salad (surprisingly good and oh so simple)
Red Lentil and Coconut Soup (soooo addictive, and I have a ton of red lentils. LOVE!)
Hummus (delicious and easy peezey!).
I wish I did a better job of documenting everything that was shared because it was all extravagantly good.
And I think that is why I've been able to stick with this lifestyle, despitethe fact that it does take time and effort to figure out how to plan around cooking meals from raw ingredients, time to grow the food, join a CSA, visit the Farmer's Market, etc. All of it is worth every delicious bite.
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Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book as part of the From Left to Write book club. – The Twitter hashtag for the From Left to Write book club is #left2write. Follow From Left to Write at @fromleft2write.
