The Times Are A Changing...

With a new diet, comes a new blog. Due to format and content, I am changing blog names and sites. Please come and join me on Wordpress: http://vegetariansalmon.wordpress.com

Change can be scary, but it is also promise. All the old recipes are on the new site, but better recipes will live there as well.

Farmed vs. Wild vs. Vegetarian

I had a really interesting conversation with a close vegetarian friend last night about how I deal with an internal battle with the eating of fish. He was remarkably open to the ideas I had about farmed vs. wild and eating humanely, and seemed to understand where I am struggling. I really enjoy supportive conversations like the one we had. True vegetarians tend to get defensive around pescetarians. However, I look at all of us as existing on a sliding scale in the efforts to reduce environmental impact and stop cruelty. The reality is that I eat fish at most once a week, and the vast majority of the world consumes pounds and pounds of meat and fish. It is not a race to be the most perfect consumer, and I appreciate camaraderie along the way.

The ideas from the last book that I read, The Face on Your Plate, has me thinking more and more about what I eat and where it is coming from. It emphasized the negatives of farmed fish, especially the antibiotics dumped into the water, fish cages, sea lice, pollution, brutal deaths, and the poor quality of the fish. In contrast wild salmon are fished in a remarkably different way. Using the life pattern of salmon, who are born in a stream then leave their home only to return to lay eggs and die, wild fisheries strategically lay the eggs and wait for the salmon to return. In this regard, the salmon live a long life and are fished when they are going to die. For some reason, this sits with me much better then fish farming. However, the more I think about, the more likely I am to transition out of eating fish. For now, I will stick to the wild salmon, but start to build up an arsenal of vegetarian recipes to ease my transition.

Switching back to a full-time vegetarian opens a floodgate of issues. Am I prepared to work really hard to keep my protein and iron up, as anemia has plagued me my entire life? How do I consider AAM'S feelings when I change the household (he is flexible- but this does affect him)? Do I raise Serafina vegetarian? Am I ready for the backlash on the decision to have no fish in the house? Do I change my blog: the name and the content? I also worry about how my diet, and raising my daughter vegetarian, might negatively affect my relationships with family and friends. These may seem to be trivial considerations, but they become very real matters.  I hate being a dietary pain, and I particularly don't like having to answer to everyone about my dietary choices. I am trying to vote with my plate, but not make a dictatorship out of eating. For now, I will eat wild salmon, and give myself time to decide.


For those who were raised vegetarian or are raising your child vegetarian, do you have anything you would like to share about your experience? Please comment below if you have ideas.

Click here for an article on the farmed v. wild salmon debate

MEAT FREE MONDAY

Want to do something small to save the environment, but not jump drastically into vegetarianism? Try Meat Free Monday. This initiative, started by Paul McCartney, uses the logic of environmentalism to help people see the benefits of being meat free. I appreciate it because not all people can be convinced to not eat animals, but many understand the importance of small steps towards environmentalism.

Here are some facts written by Paul McCartney but based of the 2006 U.N. report.

• The Livestock industry produces gases that are extremely dangerous for the future of our environment.
• The two main gases, methane and nitrous oxide, are considered to be more harmful than CO2 (methane is 21 times more powerful than CO2 and nitrous oxide is 310 times more powerful than CO2) so the data suggests that this is causing a highly dangerous situation for ourselves and, more importantly, for future generations.
• Methane also remains in the atmosphere for 9 to 15 years; nitrous oxide remains in the atmosphere for 114 years, on average, and is 296 times more potent than CO2 - the gases released today will continue to be active in degrading the climate decades from now.
• Livestock production is land intensive: a recent report by Greenpeace on land use in the largest meat producing state in Brazil found that livestock (cattle) production was responsible for vastly more deforestation than soya.
• A third of all cereal crops, and well over 90% of soya, goes into animal feed, not food for humans. Eating less meat will free up a lot of agricultural land which can revert to growing trees and other vegetation, which, in turn, will absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
• Livestock production is water intensive: it accounts for around 8% of global human water use. The estimated 634 gallons of fresh water required to produce one 5.2 ounce (150g) beef burger would be enough for a four-hour shower. For comparison, the same quantity of tofu requires 143 gallons of water to produce.
• Livestock production is the largest source of water pollutants, principally animal wastes, antibiotics, hormones, chemicals from tanneries, fertilizers and pesticides used for feed crops, and sediments from eroded pastures.
• The meat industry is set to double its production by 2050 so even if they manage to lower emissions by 50%, as they have promised to, we will still be in the same position.
• from http://goop.com/newsletter/68/en/

Consider that each meal you consume is a vote. Why not vote for better environmental practice and fairer treatment of animals? Who knows, one day may turn into two days, and two into three. In the end, you can see the benefits of a meat free lifestyle!  So, this Monday, and future Mondays, cast your vote by not eating fish and/or meat.

Meat Free Monday Website: http://www.supportmfm.org/

The Face on YOUR Plate.

Sometimes you need a little motivation, and I am in desperate need of that right now. I have been moving back into my old pescetarian diet, but with the random consumption of chicken. I knew it was time to read The Face on Your Plate: The Truth About Food. This is a book I have been avoiding for awhile, because I knew that it would scare me from meat and fish, but I need that right now.

The book, written by a vegan, uses logic and facts to really examine eating meat. I like it because the author, Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson is blunt about what meat consumption actually is, and what the industry is doing to us. He looks at the environment, health, and science, which reveals some scary truths, such as "It takes 13,000 gallons of water to produce a single pound of beef." Yikes, that alone made me not want to eat another burger again, but the section on animal waste topped it off. He wisely aces through all of the counter-arguments for eating meat, and reveals that there is no excuse for killing. He has clearly done his research, and it shows throughout the book.

My only criticism is the introduction. I find that food writing has an obnoxious trap that I find myself falling into. It is self-indulgent. At times Masson comes across as self-righteous and oh-so-perfect. The reality is, that people aren't perfect and that pretending you are is alienating. More vegetarians and vegans need to understand that for some people conversion happens slowly, not everyone can be a born again. So, there I am, somewhere on the path towards vegetarianism, and the book helped remind me of why I am on the journey.

Ethical Fish Purchasing, and a Recipe for Honey Mustard Salmon

A few years ago when we visited my favorite fish restaurant Hook, we received a pamphlet from the Blue Ocean Institute on "Ocean Friendly Seafood." The institute highlights which types of fish are environmentally safe, plentiful in bounty, and healthful options. They also explain why it is better to get a fish farmed or wild, and it depends on the species, as well as the location. The pocket guide can fit in your wallet, which allows you to take it to the grocery store or any restaurant (you can order a free one!).

We tend to be frugal when it comes to buying fish. About once a week, I go to the grocery store and purchase 1lb of whatever is on sale, usually amounting to $5. However, we don't sacrifice quality, which means we buy our fish at Harris Teeter (instead of the cheaper grocery stores) and I still follow the Blue Ocean Institute's guidelines. Some weeks, this means tilapia and other weeks I am lucky and it is wild Alaskan salmon. This was one of those lucky weeks...


Honey Mustard Salmon
Ingredients:

• 3 tb honey
• 2 tb dijon mustard
• 1 shallot chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• Juice from 1 whole lemon
• 1/4 tspn of Kosher salt
• Ground pepper
• 1 lb of salmon
• Foil **

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375

2. Combine honey, mustard, shallot, garlic, lemon, salt and pepper. Whisk together.

3. Lay to pieces of foil over a baking sheet, and place the salmon on top.

4. Pour the honey mustard mixture on the salmon, and fold the foil over and close.

5. Cook for 30 minutes, the salmon is done when it gently flakes.

** I tend to cook fish and veggies in foil often. It makes for super easy clean up and also locks the juices and flavor in the fish.

The myth of protein.

Below is a great nugget of an article on protein and vegetarian eating. It discusses what all vegetarians know, you are not lacking in protein, or even iron for that matter, when becoming a vegetarian. Protein naturally occurs in many plants, and it just takes a little knowledge to understand what you are eating. For example, tonight we had black bean burritos with baby spinach, tomatoes, cheese, and onions. A healthy and protein filled meal!  Don't ever let anyone tell you that you MUST eat meat in order to have enough protein. I had coaches and doctors tell me so, and I ended up fortifying my meals with chicken. I felt awful, and it turns out to be entirely unnecessary. However, my present doctor even encouraged me to stay meat-free while pregnant, and she is the head of the obstetrics wing at Virginia Hospital Center. If only little Serafina had cooperated!

Refraining from animal protein can be natural and healthy.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellen-kanner/meatless-monday-enough-al_b_655554.html

Thanks Charles for posting it on Facebook!

Fish, Oil and the Gulf Coast Economy

Sometimes, news coverage can be obtuse and frustrating to watch or read, and in those circumstances I turn off the monitor and walk away. I find the BP oil crisis to be absolutely difficult to watch because there is very little I can do as an individual, the oil keeps oozing as human technology flounders. As I stand at a fish counter, I think about where it is from and if I should purchase Gulf fish or avoid it. Am I hurting the economy or hurting my family? How can I make an educated decision about the overwhelming crisis, as well as what is safe to still eat. However, the recent story about buying fish in the Gulf Coast found in the Washington Post revealed a fascinating path fish make on their way to Whole Foods. It explains the expensive prices, decisions made along the way, and how it lands on your table. It is worth a quick read!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/09/AR2010070905598.html

Community Gardens

A benefit of living in Arlington, as opposed to our surrounding Northern Virginia cities, is that there is an abundance of community gardens. Because South Arlington is mostly apartments and smaller homes, decades ago the county put aside land for collective urban farming. Last year, I jumped at the opportunity to co-garden with a fellow Kenyon alumn, and now a fellow co-worker. She had a baby and started a new job at my school, and the thought of gardening was too overwhelming. Whereas, I had my summer of no job or grad school, and I was dreaming about my future baby, so I needed a constructive distraction. However, I didn't know the first thing about veggie gardens, and I have been known to kill flowering plants in a day. Aided by my mother, a fantastic gardener, and friends who already had plots there, I worked three days a week to get a plot the size of my living room into shape. I planted a large variety of greens, a plethora of herbs, two beds of tomatoes, a range of peppers, squash, melons, and two pumpkins in time for Halloween. I really enjoyed all the sweat and labor that went into making my own fresh food. Gardening became my therapy where I dug out my frustrations and relaxed smelling my knock-out roses.

Well, this year, my co-gardener and I were stripped of our garden, because the community isn't so much of a community. Now, granted, we handed in our fee a little late-- and I am completely comfortable with the consequences of that. However, what I did not enjoy last year was the extreme pressure put on by the garden regulars. These were a handful of people who looked at rules rigidly, and treated others with an insider/outsider approach. Additionally, your plot got graded weekly, and if there were a little too many weeds, you got an infraction. I had several, some deserved and some not deserved. I would have to run to the garden and weed as much as possible. And because our plot was at the entrance, I lived in fear of being judged. I could write my entire dissertation on the power and politics of community gardening. In summary, it wasn't a particularly relaxing way to spend my summer; the entire thing became such a headache.  I was grateful for the opportunity, but I was actually relieved when I found out the bad news. I don't want to feel that way about making my own food. I want to enjoy it and let it flow with my life, not become the obsessive center.


Right now, I am reading  Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer and I love it. The memoir highlights Novella Carpenter's move to Oakland and how she built a large garden on top of an abandoned lot on her street. Now, the major plot of the book is how she raised chickens, ducks, and turkeys to later serve for dinner, but I ignore that portion. Instead, I am so interested in how Novella falls into her garden and builds a community around it. Her community does not have rules and regulations. In fact, she lets people go into the garden and pick what they please. She finds pleasure in the experience and the sharing, and that is what I hope to do someday.

This summer, I went back to container gardening, so much easier with Serafina around. I mentioned that on Mother's Day we started a new family tradition: we planted. Our mini-community garden now has Basil, Tomatoes, Peppers, Rosemary, Thyme, and Italian Parsley on our back balcony. We are supplied with the essentials in cooking, and the ones I know I can keep alive.  Some day, when we get a house with a backyard, I plan on making a small portion of it to be our own vegetable garden-- for the kids to build community around good food. And well, I am so much better at not killing plants when they are food.

DC Reality Cooking

Since Obama made D.C. hip, many reality shows are visiting the nations capital. Unfortunately, some of the shows I find eternally irritating. I realized I am too old for the Real World when I couldn't watch an episode, even when the school I teach at was featured. Besides the irritating screaming and fighting that I long ago abandoned in a college apartment I would not like to revisit, the house avoided to allude to the Dupont neighborhood in which it was located, plus they barely took advantage of the neighborhoods off the Mall. At first, I was excited by the trending towards paying attention to the city I love so much, and then I realized producers look at D.C. through shades of red, white and blue. They ignore the people that actually live here.

However, a show I love, Top Chef, will have their next season in D.C. For a few months there has been a murmor of the shows presence. Recently, the Post even spotted Padma Lakshmi at my favorite Indian restaurant Rasika. I do hope the show refrains from the contrived D.C. icons and gets to know the city for the real city. Perhaps they will feature Soul, Ethiopian, or Middle Eastern cooking, which D.C. has some of the largest populations associated with these foods, therefore fantastic restaurants highlighting those cuisines. The Washingtonian blog spot them at Marvin, a great bar/restaurant on U Street where I celebrated my 29th birthday, so it is looking good. I don't want to get my hopes up too much, but if there is too many red, white, blue allusions I might scream.

Top Chef DC premieres June 16th at 9 pm on Bravo.

Community Supported Agriculture Dilemmas

For those a little late on the local food movement, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. In order to participate, a person signs up to pre-purchase their supply of vegetables from local farms. The farms then deliver the food to the customer in large batches. The past four years, I look up CSAs to get the cost, and weigh the benefit. What keeps me hesitating is the idea that I might not be able to cook all the vegetables, or that I will get sick of them.

This article in Slate addresses that very issue. It includes an interview with the owner of Greens, a restaurant in San Fransico, recommended by numerous vegans and vegetarians, where AAM and I enjoyed a fantastic meal last Fall. The author mentions what we found at Greens, and what I always support in vegetarian cooking, is the emphasis on the character of the vegetable, not disguising it. The article argues for keeping a few ingredients like garlic and soy sauce to compliment a variety of methods of cooking vegetables. With this approach, weekly deliveries of veggies are less scary. So, check out your local CSAs here: Local Harvest.

On feeding my baby...

Whenever I plan ahead, life giggles at the preposterous notion. When I applied early decision to Kenyon, where I stubbornly believed was a perfect match for me, I was wrong. The school was too rural and too small. When I lived with a group of girls at Georgetown, who I thought were great friends for life, I was wrong. They revealed their extreme toxicity pretty quickly, and it was the group of girls that I did not live with who have shown me what true lifelong friendship means. When I decided that I did not want to get married until after graduate school, well into my 30's, after a decade of living in Dublin of course, I was wrong. I met a man after graduating college, whom I could never imagine existed, and weaved graduate school into our lives. Dublin, he promises, we will do many times. With each of these milestones, people ask about the changes, and assume the worse. There is a human tendency to project negativity upon crooked trajectories. In the end, these changes teach me patience, and remind me of the lack of control over life we have. With each upset, I have developed into a calmer and more centered person. I accept the present as happiness.

After having Little Serafina, my plans changed again. No matter what you read and what you hear, modern mothers don't prepare themselves for surprises. Although I have always had very politically open ideas about feeding babies, I didn't expect to not really have a choice. People who know me, understand that I am never comfortable with women being told they don't have choices. For that reason, I always supported the choice of breastfeeding or formula. In the 70's, when I was born, it was frowned upon to nurse. Most people I know were formula fed. However, I don't know a single person who exclusively formula feeds their baby today. And so, I hoped to nurse the baby when she was born, but I knew that once I returned to work, I would formula feed Serafina. The research proving either method of feeding as superior is very shabby, so I really saw no problem. However, for various reasons after birth, we realized that Serafina wouldn't be able to nurse. As A. and I saw it, there was no choice. I was distraught. I never realized how upsetting it would be to not have the option at all, and it took a bit to mourn the loss of a plan.

Of course, Serafina is doing wonderfully. She is growing with each day and loves her formula. However, I have learned that in opposition to the 70's, contemporaries villanize formula feeding, even referring to it as poison. There appears to be a backlash. People ask me if I am breastfeeding Serafina, and then look at me oddly when I say no. Then they ask with negative intonation"Why?", as if this is a public matter. What strikes me as interesting is that how I feed my infant, with perfectly healthy formula, is public business. I don't ask what someone had for dinner or chastize them for eating fast food. In our modern society, how people feed their baby is political, but how they nurture their child is forgotten. Like my twists and turns, I was nervous about bottlefeeding Serafina at first, but over time I have seen the millions of benefits, which allows confidence to sink in. Her formula is her food, and it nourishes her all the same.

When discussing food with people, open your minds to a diversity of approaches. We are all wandering through life, making plans, and changing the way we see, think, and eat. A person's passage might influence their culinary choices, and they should be honored, not questioned.

One month left.....

and I haven't decided what I am going to do about my diet after the baby comes. People keep asking if I am going to return to being a pescetarian or if the baby is going to be one. A friend at work said I should continue eating meat, so that my cooking would stay interesting. A vegan friend at work hopes I go back on the straight path. Saturday night we saw the Kenyon crew , and they were loud proponents of me eating meat, but one of the guys quickly added the caveat, Oh! if it doesn't get you sick.

Although I didn't eat meat in my teens, I did briefly eat meat in my twenties. I stopped again because my body never adjusted to my gallbladder surgery. I would get phantom gallbladder attacks, accompanied by feeling sick after most meals. No matter what I did, I continued to get sick eating a variety of foods. Six years ago, I went pescetarian, and I felt much better. In fact, it was miraculous how quickly my body turned around. I did not get sick once in six years. However, once I became pregnant, the only thing that would end my morning sickness was turkey sausage or grilled chicken, and thus the downward spiral began. The sweetheart that she is, it appears that sharing food with the baby aids my general digestion, because I haven't had a gallbladder fake-attack since.

I still believe that eating meat is cruel, and unnecessary. You can make wonderful meals and be fulfilled without it. At times, I struggle with the identity of someone who doesn't eat meat, and the political connotations on both sides of the spectrum. To vegetarians and vegans, my fish eating is horrific; my culinary efforts don't count. I hate the preachiness associated with the vegetarian movement; I believe in making your own consumption decisions. On the other hand, I have a problematic relationship with meat. The industry is a drain on the environment, the conditions for workers and animals are horrific, and I can't reconcile the fact that a life is killed for my consumption.

I also don't believe in absolutes, and living in moderation is essential to happiness, especially in the culinary world. So, we shall see if I will continue to be a strict pescetarian, and if that doesn't happen, do I need to change the name of the blog?

Suistanable Cooking in the News....

Another plug for Barton Seaver....
This month, Esquire magazine featured Barton Seaver, the famed chef of Blue Ridge and former chef of Hook, as he received chef of the year. A former classmate of A., Barton is a great example of a fantastic chef using sustainable cooking techniques. I might try the broccoli recipe at the bottom of the article. If you do, let me know how it goes!

Click here for the article on Seaver

NPR and the Sustainable Fish Movement.

On Fresh Air, Terry Gross interviewed Daniel Pauly about sustainable fishing. He gives specific advice for responsible purchasing, and explains why certain fish are considered to be more problematic. For example, farmed salmon requires an extremely large amount of chum, whereas wild salmon is much better for you and our resources. I also tend to think wild salmon tastes much better. Additionally, eating fish like catfish and tilapia are much better for the environment, and you.

Click here for the interview with Pauly

Our (d)evolving relationship with food preparation.

Do you see cooking as a spectator sport? Watch the Food Network, but think heating frozen 'food' is dinner? Well, it is time to re-think your relationship with meal preparation.

My kind sister-in-law sent me this Times article by Michael Pollan. Using the new movie Julie and Julia, Pollan examines our relationship with food preparation and consumption. Definitely worth the read, Thanks J!


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/magazine/02cooking-t.html

Testing Animals, I mean really, is it necessary?

I love Vegetarian magazine. Even though I am a pescetarian, my consumption of fish is rare, and the recipes provided in the magazine are flexible and easy. As the blog shows, many of my good cooking innovations include fish, but I am learning more and more how to cook a meal that is independent of fish. More importantly, this magazine includes environmental education, which I now take to heart. They give reviews of companies who abuse and test on animals, as well as review companies who don't test or produce an organic product.They especially focus on animal testing, which is a ridiculous holdover from the dark ages of early industrialization.

The more I think about it, I would never want my cats, or any animal, to be tested on by chemists. When The Body Shop opened in the early 90s, I casually followed their slogan. But in the past ten years, during summers and awkward employment moments, I worked for the organization and I realized, testing on animals is unnecessary. It is a superfluous method of product control. We all know that certain chemicals are not healthy for the body, but companies insist on putting them on animals that we would consider pets. When A. and I married, I mentioned these ideas, and A. was more than more supportive. All I needed to do was mention our two cats, Cleo and Pokey, and he agreed. There is no reason to test on a being, when we know the results. So, for the past three years, I made a particularly serious effort at having only animal-testing-free products in our home. It is surprisingly easy once you do the research. For household products we use Method (some, but not all, of their products don't test) and Seventh Generation. For tough to clean spots, we employ a book on home cleaning that A.'s mom donated to us called Home Comforts. It is amazing. For hair and beauty, I rely on NARS, Almay, Aveda, The Body Shop, and a few smaller companies for hair products. Although I have never been a big fan of PETA--because their methods alienate people who would normally agree-- they have a fairly reliable list of which products to purchase, look here. It is no-longer about being a hippy-dippy liberal, but more about what is necessary. The question really is: If there are wonderful products that are equivalent to your mainstays, why torture an animal?

Tony may hate Vegetarians...

Anthony Bourdain hates vegetarians. As a chef he fosters a real hatred for people who only subsist on veggies, which rests on a theory about microorganisms which haunt vegetarian digestive tracks. Now, I don't let his crackpot theory limit me. His show, No Reservations, and his books assist any chef who is interested in exploring new foods. We often watch his show, which travels across the world looking for the most unusual foods, as well as the best. Some of the meals he ingests bring up other issues for the digestive track.

The other day, while driving out to a horse farm retreat with my students, I listened to his book Kitchen Confidential. Despite his brief anti-vegetarian moment, I found the book to be an amazing help for my understanding on how the restaurant industry works, as well as how to build my own kitchen. I learned when to eat fish in restaurants, what not to order, as well as which restaurants to avoid. He also gives many unbelievable stories about what happens behind the swinging doors. In many ways, he reassured me that my path into teaching was more appropriate than the wild ways of the gourmet restaurant-- which come to think of it got me worried about my cousin who works at Bertrand Chemel's new place, 2941 (I am never above plugging family accomplishments). Anyways, Bourdain's stories, sometimes boastings, create a fun and informative read, which I recommend, even for the vegetarians.

Don't call me Martha.

I continue to be suspicious of Martha Stewart.

My mom and I used Martha's early holiday specials as potential entertainment. We laughed ourselves out of our chairs each time she uttered "all you need to do is just..." which she always followed with the most complicated task in history. My mom-- a woman who went back to school, held a full-time job, raised three children, sewed, and is an amazing chef-- scoffed at Stewart's insistence that all women have time for her complicated tasks. Now as an adult, working woman who went back to school, I finally really get it. I do not dislike Martha for her white collar crime, her pimping of her brand name on her show, or her general idea of creating quality thoughtful goods from scratch. The problem with Martha Stewart is she projects an image of feminine homemaker which traps women into an impossible ideal. The woman sleeps three hours a night, which explains her testy demeanor. As a fellow insomniac, I do not trust a woman who irons with a Milele Rotary Iron at 4 am; when I wake up that early I can hardly manage a book or the remote. Entrenched in upper-class, white values, Martha recreates the 1950s myth that women can/should keep a perfect home. However, she is not old-fashioned, Martha believes women should work as well. Her well-sculpted image traps women in an ideal of material perfection. However, Martha's modern domestic loses the point of the various activities because they focus on image, not enjoyment. A home is not a place to outfit with perfect Pottery Barn furniture, Williams Sonoma kitchenware, and a scrap booking room. A home is a collection of memories which meld together to create a mosaic.

What I hate even more? Being called Martha Stewart. Yes, I cook, sew, and garden, but I don't think these activities should trap women into a 1950s myth. For a man to participate in these activities, he is modern and strikes interest of all in conversation. For a woman, she is Martha. A man who cooks at home is a gourmand, a woman is just fulfilling centuries of domestic separation. A man who sews should be on Project Runway, a woman Holly Hobby. A man who gardens is communing with the earth, a woman is beautifying. I cook because I enjoy excellent food. I sew because I can make gifts/clothes/bags better than what I see in the store. I garden because I want fresh ingredients for previously mentioned excellent food. What is lost on many Americans is the enjoyment of slowing down activities and becoming a part of the process of creation. Many of my friends say "I don't cook" or sew, or embroider, or garden because there is a negative image attached to doing formerly domestic activities. It is time to remove the gender from the activity, and understand that creating is something everyone can do. So no, I do not read Martha's magazine, buy her goods, cook her recipes, search her website, or watch her show. I refuse to believe that her image is the modern solution to the female domestic past.

.....other writers who back eco-eating.....

"Eating is an Agricultural Act."- Wendell Berry.

For more food for thought click here: Wendell Berry, Farmer/Writer.

There is no FOOD in your food...

During lunchtime, I often repeat to my middle school students, "There is no food in your food." When they take out their packaged lunches, packages wrapped in colored plastic, their food becomes an advertisement for preservatives. As a teacher, I get to witness the big sort-- the distribution of what children eat vs. what came in the brown bag. My classroom has a microwave, which means I get an interesting display of packaged dinners, loaded with chemicals and sodium. Paired with trendy drinks, the students lunch on additives on top of additives, and not a fresh veggie in sight. When people wonder about the health of American youth, I immediately think of micowavable paninis and the loss of handmade sandwiches. The students always laugh when a colleague of mine regularly searches through lunch bags, finds an interesting specimen, and holds it up in horror and reads the ingredients. Because of their Health class, taught by the same fantastic teacher, they can regularly chat about ingredients and organics. In fact, my high school students are pretty picky eaters and have a gourmet palate, with understandable lapses in teenage judgment. It is trendy to know what you are eating and try new things, and being urban students they can seek out many affordable outlets for good, real, food. They understand there is no food in their food, but why don't most adults know this?

The phrase, there is no food in your food, could describe the new book by In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan. An easy read, I picked up the book at the airport last night and finished seventy pages in an hour. Although he does not need to convert me, reading Pollan's research behind the legislative and advertising industries, which created a movement away from real food into the realm of processed food, delineates an interesting argument for changing how we eat. In particular, I enjoy his hesitancy to be self-righteous. Pollan admits to eating processed foods, but he creates a fascinating exploration into how we got to where we are, and why we are in the position to change what we eat. For Pollan, the separation of the nutrient from food opened the Pandora's box for the food industry. If they can advertise a certain food as containing a nutrient, or lacking so-called bad nutrients, then consumers will grab the flashy new item. We become alienated from food, because food is a part.

Now, I want to bring your attention to a certain portion of Pollan's argument. He feels that since we focus on subtracting ingredients, such as fat or carbs, we end up not focusing on the right problem. The studies on heart disease, which conflict on the issues of fat, don't examine the type of food people are consuming, just the ingredient. Despite the research on animal protein's connection to heart disease the public focuses on the bad nutrition ingredient, saturated fat. Perhaps, cutting down on meat, and filling our plates with vegetables might help lead to a healthier lifestyle. Pollan's not a vegetarian, but he does raise wonderful points about hormones in our food, and how this could be another link to health issues. He does my favorite approach to statistics, break them apart to show the fallacy of numbers. In the case of saturated fat, it could be hormones in meat and dairy, lack of vegetables or exercise, smoking or drinking, or cultural factors, etc. As he says, "We just don't know. But eaters worried about their health needn't wait for science to settle this question before deciding that it might be wise to eat more plants and less meat." Stop focusing on the nutrient, and eat a diversity in types of food: Real food, no chemicals. We all should have food in our food.

Growing your Goods.

I gardened yesterday. Yes, I, did. In high school, under the 90 degree D.C. heat, I used to proclaim: I will never garden. Cursing my parents enormous yard, I declared their desire to have a beautiful garden an abuse of plants and children. Up to a year ago, I would tell friends about mowing the lawn before or after running four races in track meets, in order to garner sympathy due to my obviously abusive parents. However, I turned a new leaf (haha, puns are annoying).

I can blame basil, really. When A. and I lived on the thirteenth, yes the thirteenth, floor of an Arlington building, I planted my first basil to save money. I became oddly proud of our freakishly large plant. Look! I can keep a plant alive! Considering, I managed to keep two cats alive, one who needs a daily I.V, one would think this wouldn't be a hard feat. However, I never managed to keep plants alive. When we moved to our townhouse, our deck became littered with odd herbs. At first, I could only keep edible plants alive. However, last year, my mom came and helped me plant our front lot. I realized I could keep all sorts of plants alive, and became obsessed with my hydrangea. A., look at my beau-ti-ful hydrangea! Isn't it gorgeous! Do you think it will grow to be a huge hydrangea? huh? huh? He almost issued divorce papers.

This year, I am taking the jump, plunging into the deep, taking a risk. A friend negotiated a plot at a community garden for me. The past three weeks I weeded for hours, mowed, mulched, planted marigolds, A. even helped. Now, I am ready to plant my veggies. I could not be more excited to have homemade organics. So, I guess this the spot where I need to say, I am thankful for knowing the pleasures of gardening. OK, Mom and Dad, you win.