Hello again, friends!
It's been about a year since I added anything new to the blog, but today's topic is something that I've spent a great deal of time thinking about, and one that I think will be beneficial to folks seriously interested in getting back to what my brother calls "Heritage Food Skills."
This is not intended to be a soapbox rant, but I'm going to devote whatever neurons I have available today to sharing with you some observations on our food, and how getting back to basics with what we eat, how we prepare it, and why it's important can all contribute to greater quality of life and better enjoyment of the foods we love and the ways we share it with our loved ones.
To be sure, the love of food and family is a deeply rich tradition in most family lines. I know that's certainly true for my family, who spent the better part of 100 years working the land and celebrating nature's bounty. Any time I take a look through the family recipe book or dig up an old family classic, I'm reminded that sometimes - most times - the old ways are best.
I grew up in rural Montana, and though I was a child of the 80s (read: Nintendo, MTV, etc.), my family lived in a little pocket of seclusion that kept us close to the land and close to the things that really mattered while still affording us enough contact with "real life" to not get too far removed. I was fortunate to grow up surrounded by family, and sheltered quite a bit from the daily rigor of big-city living and high-speed lifestyles. Sure, we had access to modern conveniences like grocery stores and gas stations, but they were locally owned. No WalMarts, Pizza Huts, or McDonalds came into existence in my area until I was older, and as such I count myself fortunate that most everything that hit my pie-hole was homemade; not some over-processed, chemical-laden excuse for food.
I grew up on a wheat and hog farm, with a considerable amount of chickens and turkeys thrown in for balance. Our closest neighbor raised cattle, and we had a substantial garden full of berries and vegetables that were fertilized from the various hog leavings. We often "horse-traded" sides of beef for butchered hog amongst ourselves, and when we got tired of pork and beef, when the season was right we'd go fill the freezer with venison or bag some grouse. We didn't have to go to your local Uber-Mart to get these things. And we certainly didn't have to pay through the nose for something that's considered "exotic" in the big city. I still remember when butchering day came around, or when hunting season delivered big, we had a whole assembly-line-style operation going in one of the small shops, and we all walked out of there with more neatly wrapped and labeled packages of meat than you could fit in a deep freeze. And nothing ever went to waste. Some of the best times I remember as a kid were picking things from Grandma's garden and getting them ready for dinner, or to can for later. There's another thing you can see when you look at an old family recipe book: there's one recipe or another that pretty much takes everything into account. And what's more, you can follow the seasons by which recipes get used during which parts of the year.
Ok, so why should you care? It's pretty simple, actually. Pick up a box or package of something you eat regularly and turn it over. Take a look at the ingredients. If there's something on there that you either a) can't pronounce; or b) can't identify, then you see my point. And if you really want to do a proper Sherlock Holmes impression, try searching for these mystery ingredients on the internet, what they're used for, where they come from, and what else they're used in besides food. You might actually be shocked at the things you put into your body; I know I was when I first really started paying attention to it. And if you're one of the "food aware" folks out there, you'll know what I mean when I ask people if they tailor their food choices or shopping lists based upon how many hormones, preservatives, or "fancy extras" are in a particular food item.
And so we get to the point that I am trying to make. The best food is the simplest food. And by simple I don't mean boring. I simply mean that simple food is food that has not been messed with. Garden-fresh vegetables, washed in clean water. Fresh meat and poultry right from the animal, cut and stored properly. Fruits that aren't dipped in wax, coated in antibiotics, or gassed; just from the tree or bush. And the irony in all this is that these "simple" foods are the ones you pay extra money for at the supermarket. I guess unpronounceable chemicals are cheap.
So visit your local farmer's market, check out sustainable farms, and educate yourself on how to make your own stuff. You'd be surprised at how easy it is to make homemade bread, cheese, sausage, and even condiments like mayonnaise, mustard, and ketchup. And quite honestly, it's really fulfilling to spend time with your family making homemade things, and then being able to enjoy the fruits of your labor. And the beauty part is that you know EXACTLY what's in it.
And just because I'm such a nice guy, I'll get you started. My brother and his wife are going to start a small farm focused on heritage food skills. I highly encourage you to follow their journey and see what kinds of things they've been up to. It's called Fortunate Fork Farm, and you can visit their website at this link: http://fortunatefork.com Enjoy!
That's all for now, folks. I hope that you enjoyed this little bit of insight on your food. As always, I welcome comments and emails. Feel free to hit me up at fearnotyourkitchen@gmail.com
Until next time, my friends!
-Aaron
