Good Food

Good food.  What is good food?  As I read yet another statistic about how our nation's health is worsening, I ask myself that question.  Is it food that is healthy? Perhaps, the good food label is only reserved for those dishes that are decadent or complicated to make or both.  Is it food only found in specialty stores of the expensive variety?  When I walk through the aisles of the grocery store, I try to discern which foods are good and which ones are not: it is both difficult and confusing.

The good food debate is gaining steam in America and it seems every interest group wants to own a piece of the conversation.  While some advocate for fresh, organic and minimally processed, others struggle simply to put food, any food on the table.  For those in the second group, categorizing food as "good" or "bad" seems out of touch.  It turns out we have a fair amount of food insecurity in our nation.  Your neighbor may not have access or be able to afford good food.  In this land of enormous plenty, that does not seem to make a whole lot of sense.  We want to eat what is "healthy", but the data is not so consistent or clear on what "healthy" is.  So what is one to do?  How can we tell what is good food?

For me, good food is tied to my early years living with my grandparents.  They had fruit trees, vegetables, and coconut trees in their backyard.  Grandpa went to the market everyday to get fresh fish, or meat, or whatever happened to be on the menu.  Everything tasted good, EVERYTHING: from the bittermelon dishes to the sweet coconut water, a gift from the trees in the yard.  Then there were the bananas, little, petite, picked the day we ate them, and most of all delicious.  As an adult, that is the "good food" I yearn for.  It is both a result of those happy years and the feeling that food that one witnesses grow and mature simply can't be bad for you. 

I have always tried to eat good food, but quality food is sometimes not affordable (especially when one is attending graduate school).  My father used to say, even when times were especially difficult, that the one thing he would not sacrifice was good food.  "I work, so I can eat well." He said, "Everything else comes second." That has always stuck with me.  The most basic reason to work is to be able to eat.  Without food, good food, one has difficulty getting on.  Now, as an adult, I can finally afford good food.  I can go to the grocery store and buy food, regardless of price, and not feel guilty.  (Don't get me wrong, I am not a billionaire and can't afford grass fed organic beef or Wild Alaskan Salmon everyday, once a month is probably what my budget will allow.)  It is liberating to be able to finally eat good food.  I am grateful I can do so, since I know that many of my country men and women cannot.

So yes, I fall on that end of the continuum that eats organic, mostly local, and minimally processed food.  I have lost 25 pounds on this diet of good food.  I don't worry about calories, or fat content, or points.  I simply eat good food.  My community supported agricultural (CSA)  farm allows me this decadence for 24 weeks out of the year.  I eat organic berries, squash, melons, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, potatoes, and a wide array of vegetables not found in grocery stores.  This food is picked the day I pick it up and consumed the week it is picked.  For the first time in all my years in the States, the food I eat tastes like the food I had living with my grandparents.  I cherish every morsel I put in my mouth, because good food is not a guarantee.  It can yanked from you like a good job.

When my 24 weeks are over, I still eat organic and minimally processed, but it is hard to eat local when it snows.  The CSA has a winter share, which perhaps this year I might be able to afford.  It would be amazing to have good food all year round.

All of us deserve good food.  We should not have to choose between a bag apples and a loaf of white bread because the apples costs more.  I like to think that I vote with my fork every time I choose the organic option.  Yes, it costs more, but at the end of the day, I work so I can eat.  Health is indeed wealth, and good food is the necessary ingredient.  With good food, and the good health that comes with it, I am already one step ahead.  This makes me wonder, how can we as a society demand good food?  This is America afterall, shouldn't we expect the best?  I don't have the answer to that question, I just know that we should all have access to good food that we can afford.  So the next time you contemplate what to make for dinner or purchase for consumption, ask yourself: Is this good food?

This weeks CSA bounty....

  

How to Plant a Patio Veggie Garden

Today I decided to take advantage of the lovely weather and do some gardening.  A couple of weeks ago I bought some tomato plants at Lowe's for fifty cents.  I of course then proceeded not to plant them.  Wanting to  take advantage of my newfound motivation, I decided to pot my tomato plants and create a mini veggie garden.  This is an easy project and perfect for small backyards or apartment dwellers.  Now you might be asking, "Sunduri, don't you have a backyard?"  The answer is yes, I indeed have a backyard.  It is also a large one at that.  I could plant my future veggies in the yard, but I don't know if the soil has heavy metals, I have a dog, and it would require me to build out all sorts of things since it is not a level yard.  That being said, I have some fruit trees that are finally begining to yield some fruit.  So perhaps sometime in the future (after having the soil tested) I shall plant things in my backyard instead of in pots.

Back to today's tutorial.  For this project you will need: soil (being an organic evangelist, my soil is, you guessed it, organic), some pots (clay is the best), tomato plants (or anything you want to plant), and veggie seeds.  I also used some bamboo stakes, since tomato plants tend to need a little extra support.  I like to use clay pots because they retain moisture and are more attractive then plastic pots.  I am using heirloom  seeds today (bush beans, sweet peas, spinach, cucumbers, carrots, and radishes).  The lovely gentleman I work with (I like to call him my work dad), sent me these lovely seeds for my birthday this year. My love of things from yesteryear, and for veggies, makes this the most thoughtful present anyone has ever given me.  So, I thought why not plant some of these charming veggies and make a patio ensemble.  It will be both attractive and tasty.  Below are pictures of the supplies used:

Neglected tomato plants

 

Back of the seed packet

 

 I had all the supplies for this project with the exception of the soil.  I have lots of things like this that have great potential, but I never get around to using.  Well no more, this year will be the year of finishing unfinished projects.  I digress, back to the DIY project at hand.

Step 1: Block drainage hole

Step 1: Put something to block the whole at the bottom of the pot so that the soil does not spill out.  I used a leaf for this purpose, a paper towel or napkin, work well too.  

Step 2: Pot your plant  

Step 2:  Fill the pot halfway with soil and place your plant on top.  With tomato plants, I like to plant them a little deeper so that their trunks grow thicker and are more sturdy.  After this, cover the plant with soil up to the lip of the pot.  You don't want to put soil all the way to the top. 

Step 3 & 4:  Now it's time to add the seeds.  The advent of modern agriculture has resulted in monoculture planting of crops.  Not so long ago (and still in some parts of the world), plants were grown together for optimal food production.  For example, beans add nitrogen to soil, so when planted with other crops (like tomotoes) it results in healther and more bountiful yields.  I am planting bush beans, snow peas, and spinach with my three tomato plants.  Cucumbers, radishes, and carrots are going to be planted in smaller pots.  Hopefully, this variety will make for an attractive arrangement.  Another idea is to plant edible flowers with your veggies.  This too, makes for a very attractive potted ensemble.

Step 3: Make small holes for seeds

Step 4: Place Bush Bean seed
 in hole and cover

Step 5: Planting seeds in soil

Step 5:  For the rest of the seeds, follow the instructions on the seed packet.  Some seeds will be required to be planted  1/2 an inch deep and others will be deeper.  Spacing requirements will also vary by veggie.  Below is a picture of the cucumber seeds I planted.  I like to plant these types of vine plants three at a time. This helps give plants a little more support, and if one seed doesn't germinate, you have two more for back up.  Once all your planting is complete, water thoroughly.  As in water should be coming out from under the pot.  Watering needs will vary depending on the weather.  You want to keep the soil most, not soggy. 

Below is picture of the finished product.  I have three pots with tomato plants with spinach, sweet pleas, and bush beans respectively.  Three more pots have cucumbers (the slightly larger pot), radishes, and carrots.  I'm not sure where I am going to put them in the yard yet.  They might go on the patio, or maybe by the swing.  That is a decision for another day (I will be sure to keep all of you updated).  Right now, they will be in semi-shade until the tomato plants are a little stronger.  I hope this was a helpful tutorial.  Happy Father's Day Everyone! :)

All done!

Adventures in Organic Cooking

Well it is a new year and a new decade and I decided it was time to begin the year right by doing some good old fashioned cooking (given the dearth of this activity since Jan. 1). I am especially pleased with the antioxidant salad concoction that I just finished making (I did work from home today afterall, I can certainly spend half an hour making lunch for tomorrow). I came upon this recipe by asking myself: "self, with the limited ingredients available (we just had a snowstorm, I am not going to the grocery store), what combination would be both edible and nutritionally balanced?" The answer, as it turns out, are the following ingredients: red cabbage, carrots, apples, sea weed, pomegranate seeds, freshly gound black pepper, and sauteed tempeh (in coconut oil). Now you might ask, after reading this ingredient list, "Sunduri, the antioxidant power of your salad sounds superb, but how does it taste?"  My answer is this: If you are a meat lover, this may not be the dish for you. If you are a vegan or vegetarian, you might want to consider it. If you are on a diet, well, no one should be on diets, since they don't work. If you are a health food nut, you may find this to be right up your alley. (I also doused the entire thing in copious amounts of olive and walnut oil as insurance.) The real answer will be determined tomorrow. Now, if you have been reading my entries for the last few months you are aware of my new found obsession with organic food.  So, yes, with the exception of the walnut oil (an ingredient that is very difficult to find organic as it turns out), pomegranate seeds, and the crushed pepper, all ingredients are organic.  With that, here are some pics of the lovely snowstorm that just passed the northeast.  Last night was magical, simply magical.

A Day at the CSA - Day 20

Today was another glorious fall day.  We spent part of the day volunteering at Harvest Fest for our local CSA.  CSA stands for community supported agriculture.  Essentially they are farm co-ops.  Members of a CSA pay a yearly sum and enjoy the crops that are grown for a certain number of weeks, typically this is the growing season in your geographic region.  Most CSA's use organic farming techniques (crop rotation, integrated pest management, no use of pesticides or herbicides).  My CSA raises organic produce and is only 5 miles from my house.  I was on a one year waiting list to get in and now that I have participated, it is by far one of the best changes I have made to my lifestyle.  I look forward to my weekly pick up and it is especially nice to know where my food comes from.  The food also tastes much, much better.  The Harvest Festival was fun, I manned the pumpkin painting station.  Young children are always a hoot.  This is what I wore:  The top is from H&M, the dress is from Marshalls, and I don't remember where I got the shoes.