Good Food and Friends

Today was a great day for many reasons, particularly since it involved my food and it involved my friends. Wonderful day indeed.

Today, Dan, Sarah and I went to run a couple errands, picking up some final things before our kitten comes home! (Yes, we are getting a kitten, and I'll write another post about why I wanted to get this kitten) Anyhow, we went grocery shopping, and I am very happy about the purchases I made! When I cashed out my order, there was hardly anything in my bags that was not "real" food, or had not travelled thousands of kilometers to arrive at my plate! After reading the 100-mile diet, I have definitely made a resolution to buy foods which are appropriate for the season, and that are actually food. Basic ingredients. I have always loved to cook, and now, this desire to eat food rather than the "non food" we so often find ourselves consuming is re-inspiring me.

Particularly, it is really motivating me to carefully read the ingredients of the food that I am buying, and really consider what it is that is in those products, are they ingredients that can still actually legitimately be considered food? (An example: a roommate of mine who was minoring in chemistry once told me that margarine is only one molecule away from being plastic, so now I use butter.)

Because of this, I found myself at the cash with "local" asparagus, fiddleheads, beets and carrots. I also am becoming very protective of the "real" food I have, by making sure not to waste anything, which involves freezing really ripe bananas in order to make cake, and making buttermilk pancakes and salad dressing in order not to as the buttermilk)

Today, Karen and Ryan came over for dinner, and everything we had on our plate was natural, literal food, not processed, not preserved, but chopped up, fresh vegetables, and homemade sauces and salad dressing. Sitting down to that meal tonight gave me such a great sense of satisfaction, knowing that I had cooked that delicious, healthy meal with the help of great friends, and I knew everything that was in it. And really, it was just sooooooo good, and really inspired meaningful conversation!

I feel like cooking is becoming a lost art! I have read a lot of literature about how being a feminist means shedding the ultimate "symbol of femininity", that being cooking, and being in the kitchen. However, I think that in the process, we are losing so many valuable aspects of life, such as the bonding that takes place over good food and wine and the sense of accomplishment cooking and serving a homemade delicious meal gives someone.

I tend to view the discussion of feminism and cooking in a different light: Cooking is a way for us to stay in touch with the world around us. It brings friends and family together, and the more we prepare from scratch, the healthier we are and (provided we make largely local choices), we will have a positive impact on the environment, and ensure that our agriculture and sustainability will be preserved.

The meal tonight was absolutely delicious, and it is hard to believe that it was all good for us, contained no preservatives/chemicals, and was made by hand. Amazing. Not only that, everyone enjoyed the meal, everyone left the table happy, and we didn't gorge ourselves. (Probably because there was no MSG in our food, and any similar product.)

This whole afternoon of consumption has made me so excited to read In Defense of Food, and now, I'm going to look up directions on how to can... when tomatoes are in season, I'm going to dice and can my own! I feel like a nerd, but I already feel so much better physically since school ended and I've been eating more natural, real food, and i just really love the idea of knowing exactly where my food came from, and, in particular, the product will be so fresh, and I love cooking!