"I wish more people would try these, know how good they are,"
he said as he weighed the peppers for me.
Jimmy Nardello peppers.
I've tried growing them, but here in my little ecosystem it doesn't get hot enough. 15-20 miles away it is warm enough that they are field grown.
I've thought of this conversation often over the last couple weeks, especially after Grace pointed the way to this...
When one of the people being interviewed spoke of growing up with whole foods and the knowledge of how to prepare them, it reminded me of something that I've bumped into many times as an adult, of how my childhood experience was not average for my generation and the culture I am a part of. I grew up surrounded by fish being pulled from the sea or fruits and vegetables from the garden (and a bit foraged as well).
It worries me that in so many ways we are moving as a society towards not just a disconnect with where food comes from, but of cooking itself. That if you are interested in food that doesn't come from the grocery store, precooked or in a tidy package; you must be a "foodie" as if cooking whole foods is something that become elevated above the common experience.
It worries me that a simple mixture of vegetables, spices and grains seems like something daunting to my co-workers when they ask me what I am eating. That it is outside of their experience to cook something similar.
And it worries me that as a culture, cooking is a spectator sport.
I am thinking it's time to blog about food on a regular basis again. Not on my other blog (bee creative cooking, which I think I want to leave as is; a year's worth of seasonal eating and cooking) but here, each Saturday.
I hope that as I make notes about food, cooking, recipes (even more importantly, how to cook without recipes), or what I might be harvesting seasonally from the garden; that cooking whole foods (mostly fruits, vegetables and grains because that is primarily what I eat) might seem more accessible to someone. That it might be a way to gather at a communal table of some sort for friends and family. I hope whoever comes to visit will share their experiences, the meals that they enjoy.
It can only help us all have more choices, be more resilient.
35 dollars worth of fruits and vegetables from today's farmer's market. Other food purchased for the week: milk, cheese, organic sugar (canning quince this weekend), and some chocolate. The rest of my supplies for the week will come from the pantry.
Next Saturday I'll gather my notes about what I've done with all of this. I won't necessarily eat it all this week, some will be preserved to help me meet my goal of eating locally through the winter.
Tomorrow I'll be back to share a star or two.