Day 2-
Sliced carrots are not chips...no matter what you dip them in.
I woke up starving...the need to reboot is larger than life and my list of 'to-dos' aims to get to this need. Off to the market.
The first market I attend I discover the "Market Master"...the one all market-goers are waiting for...the one with the bell. Only by the power of that bell can those waiting for their beautiful bounty get their hands on the green (or red, or yellow, or orange...). I arrive early without the knowledge of the master so I have to wait (tick, tock).
Of the dozen or so stands at the market only TWO (yes, 2) are not spraying their produce. Sigh.
I managed to get my hands on more potatoes (add root cellar to my list of things to do), tomatoes, 2 onions, 4 peppers, an eggplant (recipe needed), and a bunch of berries (with the added bonus of a prospective phone number from said farmer...no thanks!)
Stomach growling, I made my way down south in the hopes of more organic-tism. Did I buy anything I could much on for the ride? Yep- and eating those berries only brought back the fond memories of the not-so-appropriate joke told to me before he gave me the bag. Anyone else have berries for sale?!?
The next market was smaller than the first but had local honey and melons (does organic matter when the good stuff is under so much of the tough stuff? I also bought some apples BEFORE asking if they were sprayed. A curt reply of "yes" follows as she stuffs my apples in a plastic bag while I stand before her holding my cloth bag! I take my apples wondering where my firm stance disappeared to...
Off to the co-op...all my hope packed onto three sticky notes (that's where I wrote all the local places and people who sell there).
As I wander through the aisles I start thinking about this year...the last few days have been hard and my focus has been more on my growling stomach than on my "master plan' of learning and growing as a consumer. Something would need to give or I could spend the year in misery.
I think back to the ways I have grown up eating. As a child, I spent a lot of time wondering what was lying across my plate after not much more than a skinning and a cooking. Most our food had to be peeled from the bone and there was always a starch, a veggie, and a fruit...not too many boxes of anything around. Fast food was only something we got to eat when we visited the grandparents (as well as candy bars...minus Halloween). My relationship with food has not been good for a long time so to have to continue to think about "what I can't have" for another year could put me over the edge...instead I want to focus on where my food comes from, who planted the seed, what it tastes like, how to cook it and how many other ways can I cook it, what is available and when, and how are these choices making Tim and I healthier and local people keep their businesses. That seems a lot better to me than asking how many calories somethings has, how much can I eat, how far do I have to run to burn that off, and why I am still hungry.
Yep- all this went through my head as I perused the aisled and it enabled me to buy a few things without guilt because I know they are healthy, semi-local, and sticks true to what I want to come from this (BTW- those things were peanut butter from Missouri, hummus made in the co-op, and organic raisins).
Leaving the co-op I felt like I had a good plan of action...one that I could stick to and maintain each day. The plan will be #2 for the day...
To sustain from boring anyone with many more details of day 2, I will just say that I managed to research preservation options and ended up with beans, cantaloupe, and watermelon in my freezer after spending hours in the kitchen.
What I learned:
-Watermelon from a Farmer's Market looks NOTHING like the ones I have purchased from the store...NOTHING!!!!!
- Fruits and veggies DO taste different coming right off the farm.
- A great meal can be made locally (last night's dinner: salad, broccoli, and chicken that I had to pull off the bone- go me!)
- Standing in the kitchen for 4-5 hours in bare feet does not a tough woman make...ouch!
To Do:
Write up the plan.
Day 3
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