Sunday, April 02, 2006
The Idea
A few yeas ago, I was on a long backpacking trip with my friend Diana. During the last few miles of a long traipse toward our destination the conversation, as usual, turned toward food. We talked of how we stocked our kitchens. As a sociologist Diana is insatiably curious about how people do things. We talked about our food gathering habits in detail. She wanted to know: Where did I shop? What did I buy? How much did I spend? Was I prone to buying things I never used? Did I cook everyday?
I never really thought about my eating habits in quite that way and came to the conclusion that when it came to eating I was prepared. Just like the pack I carried on my back, my kitchen was stocked and ready to support my family and me. Cooking is the action we focus on most, but finding healthy, fresh, foods that you actually want to cook, having a good set of tools on hand, and knowing how to manage it all is just as important as knowing how to put it all together in the stew pot. I am constantly surprised to learn that this is not a universal skill. My coworkers peer at my lunch with something close to wonder.
Julia Butterfly Hill, the activist who sat in a tree for an unbelievable amount of time to keep it from being chopped down, puts it beautifully stating that:
This is part of what Diana wanted to know, the ritual around eating. For me, Monday-Friday I get up and head straight for the teapot. I make strong, dark, sweet tea with lots of milk. After I’ve had enough of the milky liquid to consider my next move--but not so much that I don’t do it—I head out the door for the morning swim/bike/skate/lift. After this fun and frivolity, I go straight back to the stove and start cooking. On with the morning eggs, in to the toaster goes the toast, and out of the fridge comes a piece of fruit. Breakfast rarely varies. Then onto the cutting board with whatever I plan to cook for lunch—seasonal vegetables, fresh meats or cheese, herbs, and other necessary ingredients.
I spend about 30 minutes in the kitchen preparing food for the day. Breakfast is easy and for dinner I wash and chop a few vegetables and think about that later. Lunch is where I spend the most time—and I really don’t spend that much time cooking. Sipping my cold tea, I might chop an onion and sauté it in coconut oil, then wash veggies gathered from a local farm and parcel out grass-fed beef or set black rice to boil. I tap out curry from my stash of herbs over the stove (the worst place to keep herbs and spices, but I love to see them) and add it all to the onions and watch it cook.
Later in the day when I pull out my flaming orange lunchbox and trudge down the hall to heat it the sideways glances start. Then the outright nose dipping into my bowl, “What is that? It smells fabulous. Can I get the recipe? Where do you find the time?” I smile that secret smile of rebelliousness for bucking the daily trap of fast food and slavery to one-stop-shopping. Welcome to my lunchbox.
Today’s Lunch
Spaghetti Squash with Wellshire Chorizo Sausage topped with Muir Glen Organic Sun Dried Tomato sauce.
Cut squash in half and scrape out the seeds. Place in oven on 350 degrees and get outside. Let squash cook for about an hour. Scoop out half the squash into Pyrex bowl with lid. Chop one sausage and add to the squash. Top with 1/2 cup sauce.
Notes:
The next three months are the most challenging for me. It is the end of March and the veggies from the CSA farm where my husband and I barter for a share of the harvest is gone until July. I also just returned from a long trip, so the cupboards are a bit bare. This is the kind of challenge I like.
I never really thought about my eating habits in quite that way and came to the conclusion that when it came to eating I was prepared. Just like the pack I carried on my back, my kitchen was stocked and ready to support my family and me. Cooking is the action we focus on most, but finding healthy, fresh, foods that you actually want to cook, having a good set of tools on hand, and knowing how to manage it all is just as important as knowing how to put it all together in the stew pot. I am constantly surprised to learn that this is not a universal skill. My coworkers peer at my lunch with something close to wonder.
Julia Butterfly Hill, the activist who sat in a tree for an unbelievable amount of time to keep it from being chopped down, puts it beautifully stating that:
“People are often afraid to cook; sometimes they are afraid of food itself.As a culture we are always looking for a formula that will make us well from low fat to low carb. But wellness is much, much more than what we eat—it’s how we eat.
We’re so disconnected from our food sources that we no longer know how to
nourish ourselves. We are afraid of recipes—afraid we’ll ‘mess up’ or won’t enjoy what we prepare. We’re overwhelmed by lists of ingredients and gadgets and we fall back on old-standbys…”
This is part of what Diana wanted to know, the ritual around eating. For me, Monday-Friday I get up and head straight for the teapot. I make strong, dark, sweet tea with lots of milk. After I’ve had enough of the milky liquid to consider my next move--but not so much that I don’t do it—I head out the door for the morning swim/bike/skate/lift. After this fun and frivolity, I go straight back to the stove and start cooking. On with the morning eggs, in to the toaster goes the toast, and out of the fridge comes a piece of fruit. Breakfast rarely varies. Then onto the cutting board with whatever I plan to cook for lunch—seasonal vegetables, fresh meats or cheese, herbs, and other necessary ingredients.
I spend about 30 minutes in the kitchen preparing food for the day. Breakfast is easy and for dinner I wash and chop a few vegetables and think about that later. Lunch is where I spend the most time—and I really don’t spend that much time cooking. Sipping my cold tea, I might chop an onion and sauté it in coconut oil, then wash veggies gathered from a local farm and parcel out grass-fed beef or set black rice to boil. I tap out curry from my stash of herbs over the stove (the worst place to keep herbs and spices, but I love to see them) and add it all to the onions and watch it cook.
Later in the day when I pull out my flaming orange lunchbox and trudge down the hall to heat it the sideways glances start. Then the outright nose dipping into my bowl, “What is that? It smells fabulous. Can I get the recipe? Where do you find the time?” I smile that secret smile of rebelliousness for bucking the daily trap of fast food and slavery to one-stop-shopping. Welcome to my lunchbox.
Today’s Lunch
Spaghetti Squash with Wellshire Chorizo Sausage topped with Muir Glen Organic Sun Dried Tomato sauce.
Cut squash in half and scrape out the seeds. Place in oven on 350 degrees and get outside. Let squash cook for about an hour. Scoop out half the squash into Pyrex bowl with lid. Chop one sausage and add to the squash. Top with 1/2 cup sauce.
Notes:
The next three months are the most challenging for me. It is the end of March and the veggies from the CSA farm where my husband and I barter for a share of the harvest is gone until July. I also just returned from a long trip, so the cupboards are a bit bare. This is the kind of challenge I like.
