So much for any author work for the rest of this year! Looks like our house is scheduled for some immediate maintenance. You know how it all snowballs, right?
Well, big dishwasher issues lead to ordering a new one. In turn, that leads to, "Geesh, I suppose we should redo the tile first. Don't want to have to pull it again to put in the flooring." Which then prompts, "Oh goodness, better paint the walls before we put in the new flooring."
Yep, snowball effect. And I've now ordered the new dishwasher, so we've gotta jump into action.
I suppose I wanted to say, "I know it's been a while, but looks like it'll be a while more before I get back to posting much." However, knowing me, I generally have that posting urge when I'm super-busy at least as much as when nothing's going on. I suppose it has to do with processing everything.
Gonna go get busy now. :)
Monday, November 25, 2013
Friday, November 8, 2013
Oh, to be Elitist like my Extremely Poor Grandmama...
Today, I went into the side yard and harvested 3 little sweet potatoes.
I sauteed them in a olive oil with some garlic, and they were
delicious. Absolutely fantastic. I was really surprised. I generally
buy them at the Farmer's Market, considering them as fresh as can be,
but if you think about it, those have likely been picked for at least a
week by the time I cook them. These, in contrast, were picked less than
15 minutes before they were in the pan.
15 minutes vs a week IS a big difference, though I think we're disposed to think of a week as pretty durn fresh. Now, to continue the contrast...I bought a cucumber the other day from the regular grocery store. No idea where it was grown (though I looked for the missing info in the store) or when it was picked, but I simply had a hankering for cucumber. Now, when I peeled it and bit into it, although nothing was technically wrong with it--perfect size, not bitter, etc--I nearly threw it in the compost bin without eating it. The flavor was so lame and lacking. I'm so 'spoiled' these days with the farmer's market veggies.
Today, when I emptied Fiona's lunchbox, I nibbled a little on the apple core (I've been extracting seeds, too) and nearly spit it out. It was awful! Mushy blech. Fiona saw me dealing with her lunchbox and said, "Oh, Mom, I bought home Naia's apple core." Nice, hmm?
She's totally into the seed saving/growing thing, too. At this rate, we're going to have an orchard! I've already given my folks the first dozen apple tree seedlings :), and we've ten more in our windowsill plus I-don't-know-how-many waiting to sprout in the fridge. Okay, so the apples I'm using aren't local (as I just indicated, I hope to rectify that within a few years), but they are organic. I can't say Naia's wasn't, only that it was a dramatic contrast for some reason. And I composted the seeds, because I didn't want to waste my time on possibly irradiated seeds or not-so-good apples. And I have no idea about genetic engineering in apples--if that's even going on! Oh, certified organic produce by definition is not genetically engineered, either, though there can be drift...
Now, what's that say about the state of our society when we consider home-grown or local produce to be for the rich 'spoiled' folk? Really sad. Are we Americans THAT destitute that we don't expect quality produce? Our society embraces poisoned, mutated goods as necessary? Sheesh, even my poor, poor maternal grandmother ate very fresh foods year round. She repurposed everything, she rarely bought anything new, and she always had seedlings sprouting in her house :). In fact, she didn't even drive a car and lived out in the country!!! I know she carried a few grocery staples in her cupboards, but she kept a huge garden and chickens. She canned. She had a huge, prolific pear tree. Her husband, who died before I was born, had been a fisherman, but she mostly ate chicken as her meat source when I knew her. Anyhow, my point is (although I'll admit I'm getting carried away with nostalgia) that this was an extremely POOR woman, yet she had extremely fresh, nonpoisoned, nonmutated food--and lived to the ripe old age of 97. If she can have it, then why does our society consider it 'elitist' to expect or want it as well? Her animals, and my paternal grandfather's farm animals as well, weren't kept in awful factory farm conditions. Again, very poor people, but now considered 'elitist'. Who put that spin on what is ordinary and natural? A corporate spin, hmm?
I think it's quite ironic how folks tend to consider our modern, harried lives as so decadent and indulgent. Our ancestors didn't necessarily have the chocolate, the packaged treats, the instant food...but what most people don't realize is how much BETTER their fresh food tasted. Perhaps if we all had the freshest produce, the very best quality seasonal foods, we'd realize that THEY had the upper hand. THEY had the truly delicious meals--and, yeah, they took it for granted, as we ought to be able to do. That is, it was simply 'food' to them--they worked hard for it and expected exactly what they got.
And the truth of the matter is that it is CHEAP and not so very difficult to garden a bit ourselves. We don't have to grow everything. We can just start with a few items. It's amazing the constant usage I get out of the little bit that we have. Of course I want to really develop a garden, but I am thrilled with the constant supplementation of our meals with our own homegrown foods. Tip: Basil and mint are super-easy here in the Southeast. I use both more than I ever would have believed!
The easiest way to get started, if you have the access to one, is simply by frequenting your local farmer's market. I suspect it'll instantly improve the taste of your meals and perhaps inspire you to do more. Maybe one day your life will be as 'elitist' as my extremely poor grandmother's was.
15 minutes vs a week IS a big difference, though I think we're disposed to think of a week as pretty durn fresh. Now, to continue the contrast...I bought a cucumber the other day from the regular grocery store. No idea where it was grown (though I looked for the missing info in the store) or when it was picked, but I simply had a hankering for cucumber. Now, when I peeled it and bit into it, although nothing was technically wrong with it--perfect size, not bitter, etc--I nearly threw it in the compost bin without eating it. The flavor was so lame and lacking. I'm so 'spoiled' these days with the farmer's market veggies.
Today, when I emptied Fiona's lunchbox, I nibbled a little on the apple core (I've been extracting seeds, too) and nearly spit it out. It was awful! Mushy blech. Fiona saw me dealing with her lunchbox and said, "Oh, Mom, I bought home Naia's apple core." Nice, hmm?
She's totally into the seed saving/growing thing, too. At this rate, we're going to have an orchard! I've already given my folks the first dozen apple tree seedlings :), and we've ten more in our windowsill plus I-don't-know-how-many waiting to sprout in the fridge. Okay, so the apples I'm using aren't local (as I just indicated, I hope to rectify that within a few years), but they are organic. I can't say Naia's wasn't, only that it was a dramatic contrast for some reason. And I composted the seeds, because I didn't want to waste my time on possibly irradiated seeds or not-so-good apples. And I have no idea about genetic engineering in apples--if that's even going on! Oh, certified organic produce by definition is not genetically engineered, either, though there can be drift...
Now, what's that say about the state of our society when we consider home-grown or local produce to be for the rich 'spoiled' folk? Really sad. Are we Americans THAT destitute that we don't expect quality produce? Our society embraces poisoned, mutated goods as necessary? Sheesh, even my poor, poor maternal grandmother ate very fresh foods year round. She repurposed everything, she rarely bought anything new, and she always had seedlings sprouting in her house :). In fact, she didn't even drive a car and lived out in the country!!! I know she carried a few grocery staples in her cupboards, but she kept a huge garden and chickens. She canned. She had a huge, prolific pear tree. Her husband, who died before I was born, had been a fisherman, but she mostly ate chicken as her meat source when I knew her. Anyhow, my point is (although I'll admit I'm getting carried away with nostalgia) that this was an extremely POOR woman, yet she had extremely fresh, nonpoisoned, nonmutated food--and lived to the ripe old age of 97. If she can have it, then why does our society consider it 'elitist' to expect or want it as well? Her animals, and my paternal grandfather's farm animals as well, weren't kept in awful factory farm conditions. Again, very poor people, but now considered 'elitist'. Who put that spin on what is ordinary and natural? A corporate spin, hmm?
I think it's quite ironic how folks tend to consider our modern, harried lives as so decadent and indulgent. Our ancestors didn't necessarily have the chocolate, the packaged treats, the instant food...but what most people don't realize is how much BETTER their fresh food tasted. Perhaps if we all had the freshest produce, the very best quality seasonal foods, we'd realize that THEY had the upper hand. THEY had the truly delicious meals--and, yeah, they took it for granted, as we ought to be able to do. That is, it was simply 'food' to them--they worked hard for it and expected exactly what they got.
And the truth of the matter is that it is CHEAP and not so very difficult to garden a bit ourselves. We don't have to grow everything. We can just start with a few items. It's amazing the constant usage I get out of the little bit that we have. Of course I want to really develop a garden, but I am thrilled with the constant supplementation of our meals with our own homegrown foods. Tip: Basil and mint are super-easy here in the Southeast. I use both more than I ever would have believed!
The easiest way to get started, if you have the access to one, is simply by frequenting your local farmer's market. I suspect it'll instantly improve the taste of your meals and perhaps inspire you to do more. Maybe one day your life will be as 'elitist' as my extremely poor grandmother's was.
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