Preservation Instinct

This summer, friends, I have struggled to write in this space. I'm not totally sure why. In large part, I think it's because I've immersed myself in the pressing food issues of our day. When prioritizing blogging alongside work that could help relocalize our food system and make a lasting impact on people's diets, and daydreaming about working to eradicate GMOs, completely reform national farm subsidies, and strengthen the local economy, posting a little recipe along with a couple pretty pictures to this page seems woefully insignificant.

I've been reading Michael Pollan and Anthony Bourdain lately, and they've been stirring me up. Omnivore's Dilemma has flat out made me mad. I felt troubled about our food system before reading it, but now I have a clear mental picture of the atrocity that is a Consolidated Animal Feeding Operation, and a clearer understanding of why corn is in everything, even apples, these days (thanks, Earl Butz).   Now all I want to do is pack up my life, buy a 100 or so acres, and start a sustainable farm along the lines of Joel Salatin's -- I'd get some Holsteins, a flock of chickens, maybe a couple pigs, and I'd become a self-sufficient (i.e. needing no outside inputs like chemical fertlizers) farmer of grass, mostly, plus some other crops.  It sounds like a gorgeous, pastoral ideal.

It also sounds like ridiculous fantasy. I'm not really going to buy a farm. Nor am I going to be able to change national subsidies anytime soon. But there are things I can proactively do -- a lot of things. I can opt out of the existing national food system that tries to feed us corn-1,000-ways by growing my own vegetables and herbs, buying organic, and buying from my local farmers as often as possible. I may not have my own farm, but I can support those farmers who farm in ways I like. I can choose organic, heirloom varieties that haven't been corrupted by genetic engineering. By voting with my dollars, I can help farmers be good stewards of their land. And by spending my money within my community, more of every dollar I spend gets funneled back into my local economy, rather than flowing out to a small handful of gargantuan agribusinesses.

For example, I can choose to buy local strawberries from Mount Vernon instead of California.  These are some luscious examples I got from Hayton Farms's stand at the West Seattle Farmers' Market.

(I used them to make Strawberry Lemon Preserves.  They turned out like strawberry lemonade -- pretty tasty, especially when used with shortcake and whipped cream.  But I'm not convinced I'll make the recipe again, so I'm not including it in this post.  I'll share other jam recipes I've made recently in future posts.)

One note about buying local: I well know that local food often seems more expensive and therefore not accessible to many people. I think this idea can be demystified -- or at least one can develop strategies to make a dollar stretch farther. I'll address this in a forthcoming future post on how to build meals that cost $5 or less a person.

In addition to making conscientious purchasing decisions, I can keep the art of cooking and thrift alive.  From locally sourced ingredients, like these strawberries, I can make my own minimally processed food as often as possible. This way, I choose what goes into what we eat and where it comes from. I can avoid high fructose corn syrup and other more unpronouncable ingredients. I can shorten the link between the farm and my table. I can help preserve knowledge about how to cook and preserve and stretch ingredients. And I can pass information along to others about how they can also make a difference, albeit on a small scale.

To this end, I've been doing a lot of preserving this summer.  I like the idea of buying fruit at its peak and extending its life so that we can enjoy it on a future dark winter day.  Opening a jar will remind me of the summer day I spent in the kitchen working with this gorgeous produce.  And I like knowing part of the story behind the fruit behind this sweet treat I made.

So today, I rededicate my blog.  In addition to posting recipes worth cooking again, I will include information about current food system issues, as well as ideas about how to navigate these issues.  I hope to provide you with inspiration, resources, and assistance on multiple levels.  Together, let's take up the work of preserving and reinventing our food culture and traditions.

To your good health.  Buon appetito!