In Chapter 9 Kingslover examines another reason for her families locavore movement - slow food as community. Preparing, cooking, and eating a meal together takes time. And that time used to be when most families connected, shared their days, and had some special moments all together. These days with most parents working and children being encouraged to have report cards that look like resumes, dinner time ain't what it used to be. Kingslover's family takes this hands on approach one step further when she decides to make her families cheese (added to the daily bread her husband makes).
Is there anything you would like to learn how to make from scratch? How often do you have a sit down meal? What are your feelings on the process of dinner?
Chapter 10 discusses the myth that a business, in this case a restaurant, would be too expensive to run on local fare. The Farmers Diner in Vermont (wish she said where!) does just this and remains successful. It's all about intentional choices on every aspect of the business that allows them to succeed. The smaller size of the restaurant, the food they sell, and what they will and won't do all add to making this local operation stay as local as possible. This message translates to Kingslover and her family's locavore experience as she says over and over again - they still have their one or two things they can't live without, but they make a choice to find the rest of their food local.
Are there any businesses in your area that feature local fare? Where do you think the power of choice is most important in your life?
Chapter 11 and the family is still on vacation, this time just over the border in Canada. Kingslover attempts to find local produce at a farmers market and gets into an interesting idea of how one must constantly adjust what is local, organic, and the best choice to the situation and environment one is in. One problem with organics going to the masses as they have now is the blanket statement of one process and one way for all organic farmers to follow. Yes, at a base level, all farmers are doing similar things, but just as in a farmers market in Canada versus a farmers market in Virginia, the land the food and the environment are different! Each farmer reads the land and reacts accordingly to get the best growth. One definition and one method does not always work for everyone.
Chapter 12 is July, peak harvest season for zucchinis, when the family is finally overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of produce their garden is growing. Kingslover explains when she was planning out the garden she was planning for the year, but then sometimes her excitement at varieties would lead her to throw in some more plants, just for fun. Now she sees the down side of that indulgence with a kitchen full of unused zucchinis and tomatoes! She sprinkles in childhood recollections of her father and zucchinis while also adding the thought that as humans got better at storing food, it allowed them to save more work less. Eventually this allowed humans more time for other things than hunting and gathering...which a huge leap later led to fast food.
How much produce do you buy when you go shopping? Do you plan for a week, a meal, a day? If you see something is going to go bad, do you cook it up to be stored, eat it immediately or throw it away?
In Chapter 13 the discussion is on rural vs city, country vs state and the other dichotomies created around a farming life versus a non farming life. Even good old red vs blue, dems vs repubs stems from this mysterious, clouded difference. Kingslover tries to point out that really, there is no great divide between these things, only the superimposed differences created by marketing, bandwagons, and other propaganda of a few to sway the many. Today the big divide is really more of a disconnect between those who make the rules and those who have to live and work by them. Kingslover, having not only grown up in a farming family, but now living in one, tries to highlight that understanding where votes come from would help people see there is no red vs. blue or dems vs repubs.
Kingslover also begins and continuesthe major job of canning, drying and preserving all the extra vegetables, preparing for the winter.
- get Cheese Making Made Easy
- read - drat, this book on democrats and republicans that Laurie recommended once...name to come
- find local stores and restaurants that serve local foods and create a post dedicated to this topic to introduce the cool site I found...soon to come!
Chapter 9
ReplyDeleteI grew up eating dinner at the table with my parents. I used to think it was a nuisance sometimes, and liked the freedom of going over Charleen’s house and being able to watch television while eating and such, but looking back on it, I am glad we had this time together as a family. I also know I enjoy cooking a lot more when I’m doing it with someone or for someone else. I think dinner is a great excuse to connect with others, and if I were to have a family someday I would want to make dinner something we’d all partake in.
I would like to learn how to make one good Indian dish from scratch. I think making cheese would be cool too, but I don’t feel that I eat it all that much, so getting the supplies and going through the learning curve doesn’t appeal to me, but it would be fun to do with a friend!
Chapter 10
I found this site, which I’m excited about: http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com/roundup/42204
I have seen other places that write on their menus that they try to use local, organic produce when available. I did a little searching and I found out that the diner in Vermont is in Quechee, VT on Route 4! (As a side note, I totally want to go there and to that awesome motel drive-in place that you can watch movies from your motel room that Tom and Marna told me about!)
As the power of choice, that’s a loaded question! I like knowing that I am helping to make a difference by being more aware of where my produce and food comes from. It can definitely add some difficulty into the equation, but I feel it’s worth it because after a while it just becomes second nature (or at least I hope). Also, we have to choose our battles. Even though this book makes me want to run out and start growing my own fruits and vegetables, I know that’s not practical for my lifestyle, so I will resort to trying to frequent farmer’s markets and reading labels on where things come from for now.
Chapter 11
To me organic means not using pesticides or any growth hormones or chemicals in the production of the food. I sort of envision it as doing it the ‘old fashioned way’. As for local, sometimes I think within an hour or twos drive seems reasonable, but other times, like when I am at the store, I think within CA seems ok too. I guess it is all relative, because even if it was from Washington state, that’s still better then from South America.
I don’t think my definitions change too much when talking to others, but they might if other people had good arguments or reasons for their own definitions.
As for the all encompassing ‘organic’ blanket statement – that, I find frustrating. I totally agree with you, depending on environment, size of the farm and what they are growing, there should be more ways and processes available. I hate the fact that the word ‘organic’ is being twisted and you have to read labels carefully to see what that word on a package is truly implying.
Chapter 12
I would say I spend between $20- $40 a week on produce, but it varies so much because sometimes I can hit up farmer’s markets, or local markets, other times I’m at whole foods griping about the $5 pint of strawberries I just have to have. I tend to buy certain staples though – like salad supplies, broccoli, bananas and apples. Then on top of that I’ll see what else looks particularly good. I love berries and mangos. Asparagus is in season so I’ve rocked that a little more lately too.
If something is going bad, I try to use it if possible, but that isn’t always possible, so it ends up in the trash. I feel bad every time too, so bad even that I will not even clean it out of the fridge until well after its gone bad, as if that somehow makes it seem less wasteful. Speaking of which, I have celery that’s been in there for about a month now.
Chapter 13
I think when I have more time, I’d like to get into canning and preserving more. I wonder why it always seems so daunting to me to do things like this. These are reasons I miss living near you, I know that we could totally do it together and then it would just be fun and easy!
Hate to be a nitpicker and all, but it is KINGSOLVER not Kingslover
ReplyDeleteNote of introduction: Stumbled onto your blog. I'm a fellow JP'er. Seems like we have similar interests.
ReplyDeleteI would like to learn how to make a piecrust from scratch -- preferably whole wheat. I've tried, and the results are edible, but not exactly delectable. Certainly not as pretty as the ones from the freezer case at Whole Foods.
I have two kids (7 and 4) and am in the middle of a divorce. Before that started, we had dinner together pretty much every night. I've had the luxury of being at home with the kids, so it seemed only fair to at least put good grub in front of everyone. Not to mention I love to cook. Anyway, the kids and I still eat together every night. It's not exactly peaceful, but I like the idea of the ritual.
Dinner when I was a kid wasn't so great, because my parents were of the "clean your plate" generation. There were a lot of power struggles over food. Also, my mom never really asked our opinions on what we wanted to eat.
I plan the week's menu with lots of input from my kids and whenever they want, I have them help cook. I never force them to eat anything they don't want, just try to be a good example and explain why we don't sit in front of the TV while we eat. Kind of wanting them to honor the food and all of the work that went into getting it in front of them -- their own included.
BTW, I'm dying to read the Kingsolver book, also Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Eating!"
Dana