unplug yourself: part two

over a year ago, i extolled the virtues of investing in your health by educating yourself and examining the sources of the food you eat. the essential message was to take off the blinders that commercial food producers force on us through advertising, media, etc., and to seek better, more sustainable food sources. if you missed part one, shame on you but here it is once again.

barbara kingsolver, in her book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, chronicles her family's year-long pledge to eat things they grew on their farm, could trade their home grown items for, or could get from other homesteaders in their community. one cue that i took from the kingsolvers is to abide by the tenet of eating SLOWly, a philosophy that has been acronymed as Seasonal, Local, Organic, and Whole. in doing so, i strive to unplug from the frenzy of commercial grocery purveyors and choose to patronize the community-supported food chain from days of old...the food chain of our grandparents... the food chain i'm glad to see being revived.

one of the best ways i've found to participate in that revival is to purchase a share in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm. farmers who sell to large supermarkets traditionally get a woefully small percentage on the dollar from the sale of the produce they grow. as such, if they experience a bad crop year, they're seldom able to mitigate that hardship and survive til the next year. with the purchase of a share, you are assured that ALL of the dollar goes to them and you share in the bounty (or lack thereof) that their hard work yields. this year, we chose the Greenhorn Acres Farm. for the cost of our share we get 26 weeks of fresh produce that was organically grown and picked fresh by caring hands. the variety is inspiring, the freshness is unbeatable, and having met the family that works the land and tends the plants makes it even more rewarding.

this is the typical share basket we collect each week.

there's a head of beautiful crisp lettuce, swiss chard, chiogga beets, pattypan and ball zucchini, fava beans, and english peas. with the two latter treats, i took inspiration from jamie oliver's recipe for "posh beans on toast" which another blogger transcribed for our convenience. it was incredibly fresh and really delicious. the mystery of the weekly bag's unknown contents really lends to inspired cooking and forces one to eat or preserve what the earth provides when she provides it. i've experimented a little with canning and pickling and expect a lot more in my near future. good thing i got this book as an father's day present this year :-)

so, again, i'm not preaching but inviting you to find a CSA near you or at the very least visit a weekly farmers market and directly support the people who take the time and put forth the effort to grow our food. you'll be rewarded with fresher, tastier, more nutrient-rich food that was honestly grown and lovingly harvested for you. you'll be glad you did.

organically,

~thorns