Turkey Twice as Good

I am not really referring to the leftovers Thanksgiving turkey supplies us with.

I spent twice a much on a large breast (get the giggles out) for Jamie and I - locally and organically grown not far from here - as it would cost to buy a whole turkey from Price Chopper. I was reaffirmed in my decision after seeing a slide show about where Butterball turkeys come from, how they are conceived, live, and die. I wish I had inclinations to become a vegetarian, but I'll save that for my next, further enlightened life where I can survive on mostly air.

So I spent about $60 just beginning to plan our dinner for two, when we found out we have other friends in town - chef friends. Who won't allow anyone else to bring food. They're doing that to be wonderful, perfect hosts...so well, I guess we'll have our second supper on Sunday. Truthfully I was not completely organized, and I did NOT want to be trampled in the grocery store riot tonight - the night before Thanksgiving.

Back to the 'spend more, eat less, buy local' argument stuff. I narrowed my reasoning down a bit. We've all heard the gory details about tortured animals, the agregious amounts of pesticides used on our veggies, or even hormone influence growth in all of the above. Here's a more philosophical thought:

Not unlike the cannibal ideal, who desire to eat human flesh to gain the strength of their enemies, I desire to eat locally grown, sustainable, organic or handcrafted foods to infuse myself with positive energy and ideals of the farmer or artisan.

Every living cell holds a different story, knowledge or strength - life has scribbled a different note on each one, and I want to eat poems.

Meat in my salad

Travel is inspiring of course - it can expand our mind and perspective in many different ways. Spending 3 days in different airports and people-watching is part of this inspiration.

Inspiration to not end up like many of the people I see. Inspiration to never eat fast food again. Inspiration to boycott shopping forever. (I spent about an hour imagining the blogging possibilities not purchasing anything new for one year would bring me.)

The hardest part is finding something to eat that is semi-affordable, and does not make me grip my stomach in pain after eating. I made a mistake in Nadi by choosing the cheap option; veggie samosa and pakora. Cheap, relatively small, but totally deep fried. Luckily, I am not a large person by nature, but I think I understand food addiction. (Like there is chocolate cake in the fridge right now - I may not eat until I am sick in one sitting, but I will certainly take small bites every time I walk passed until it's gone.) Those samosa caused me stomach pain on the 11 hour flight into LAX...during which I ate a mystery meat chicken sandwich.

*Note: Always opt for the vegetarian option on your flight. Or simply drink juice - it is probably better for you. The vegetarian option is usually not as glamorous, but that also means it may not be microwaved. Which leads me to my next encounter - mystery meat.

"You know chicken is a chicken, right?" I saw this quote recently and thought "I'd like to think so." Most of us don't tend to think about what's in our food other than calories, vitamins or fat. But think bigger...think beyond words...chicken? Where? All I see is some pink, cushy type lump on top of my salad. It's most definitely that stuff they call "machine processed" which just makes me picture a poor chicken being ripped to shreds by 8,000 tiny, sharp surgical instruments in about 2 seconds. Or about this show I saw once, where they literally liquified a chicken, bones and all, into a sort of paste, which I bet could easily be stuck back together again into something resembling what was on my salad...that I ate in LAX, right along with the 'bacon' bits.

Ah! But it was my choice - this salad was sitting right next to a nice Greek salad, Olives and feta on top of the same creepy lettuce...and I chose the mechanical chicken.

I suppose it was better than opting for "Chili's, Too." Barf. Baby steps.

At least at home I have more control of what I am eating. I revel in buying local organic items. I had a hard time with the turkey this year - I spent 25 dollars on an organic turkey breast for Jamie and I from a local farmer...then saw entire turkeys at Price Chopper for 15, and tried not to get depressed. I don't do these things to boost my ego, (as far as I can tell) I honestly want us, people, to take pride in putting something good into our brains and bodies!

I realize this sounds rather harsh. I do NOT plan on always posting something cynical, but it's necessary at the moment. I thank the world for putting me in Vermont, a little bubble of awareness.

To be continued...

Recipes to Make this week...or next

I had to post the links to them here, before I lose the tabs. Holy MMMM...all local, too.

Volunteered at Rural Vermont's Tour de Farms today...more on that later.

Applesauce

Zucchini Polenta Chevre Tartin

Peach Bacon Bleu Cheese looks incredible salad

Ok, and two more - Carrot Cilantro Soup!

Acorn Squash stuffed with corn Pudding

Delicata

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sminor/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

OH, little striped almost-gourd-squash - it's good to see you! Thank you, Mazza family, for growing huge quantities of these little guys, and selling them for little more than $1 each.

Once the first hint of fall hits the air, I become torn between wanting a few more hot summer days, and driving out immediately in search of hayrides and or pumpkins to buy and put on my deck (and to later make pie out of!!)

I think I am allowed now - last weekend I went apple picking, and had to make apple crisp because I realized I do not own a rolling pin...hmmm.

But back to Delicata. Jamie actually eats it, and it's easy to make. I'm just going to cut it in half (take out the seeds and roast them, too, mmmmm) put some butter, salt, pepper and honey inside and roast them until they are soft! Simple simple yum yum, simply yum.

Tomato's hit by blight - Slow death or green food

Hi!

I have about 35 shiny green tomatoes sitting out on my deck, that about 30 minutes ago were happily hanging from their stems - their spotted, crispy-leafed stems.



A week or so ago, a friend came by and as I was bragging about how many tomatoes were on my vines, he casually asked if we had any blight problems, since so many people do. I did not then, but I swear, the next morning, leaves were yellow. Then brown, then I saw a nasty tomato. So today, I picked my beautiful (?) fruit.

What did we do before we had the internet to answer all of our questions?

I had been planning on months of home-made tomato sauce to carry me through winter, but it looks like the next week will be filled with green tomato recipes.

Two that I will certainly be trying:

Fried green tomatoes with buttermilk dressing

Green tomato soup with ham or bacon

I think these two are a good addition to my localvore challenge menu for September!

Cheers,

Adena

A Natural Dichotomy - Steve and Wendy's Eggs

First unedited installation of "Arguments and Attempts to be an Awarenivore"

Since recently moving to Jericho, Vermont, I have decided to embrace the 30 minute drive into the ‘city’ and am excited to take part in things I think define a ‘country lifestyle.’

(Not completely blind to this idea, I did grow up in Maine owning and caring for an assortment of animals, but as will happen, I spent college and some years after exploring other ways of living in New York City…some things get lost in translation.)

Lucky enough to be a transplant in this area, I am less afflicted (as some neighbors my age) with the fear of being a ‘townie’ and I am able to explore and embrace my surroundings without feeling the desire to leave. At the same time, being new to the area makes it harder to know what’s good – to meet people, farmers, find even decent grocery stores or the bank, not to say even farm stands. One of my first goals is to find a place or series of farms where I can buy as much of my groceries locally as possible.

So last week I drove down River Road in search for one of these elusive farm stands (which should not be so allusive, first problem?) in hopes I would find some where that I could frequent this summer. I passed a few signs saying ‘eggs’ but stopped at one with an intriguing sign saying ‘self-serve.’

I pulled off to the side of the drive, and stepped out. A radio was quietly murmuring in the barn, and I noticed a sign saying ‘baby turkeys.’ There was no one else around, though, so I wandered through the yard shouting ‘hello?’ as to not startle anyone, and took a quick picture of the baby turkeys on my cell phone. (Their days of cuteness are numbered.) Taking a brave step around back, I came across a shirtless Steve and his wife Wendy tending to the chickens. Apologizing, I inquired as to where I could find the eggs. Steve, introducing himself and his wife Wendy said not to worry, most people can’t find them first. They are simply in a small refrigerator right under the ‘eggs’ sign. Embarassed anyway, I joked with him that I was wondering if ‘self-serve’ meant that I had to collect the eggs from the layers myself. I hoped I had conveyed the humor in what I was saying to him, as (having chickens myself growing up) it wouldn’t have been that alien to me. Driving up, I had visions of myself, in skirt and flip flops, covering my head with one arm while the other blindly searched among feathers and feet for the still-warm prizes.

For the first time I was thankful for the 94 Ford Ranger I was driving. Perhaps it provided me with some sort of legitimacy in Steve’s eyes as a Vermonter. I bought a dozen for 3.75 (well, I left a ‘5’ in the jar) – they were huge, bursting out of the recycled egg carton that Steve’s regular customers return to him. “We’ve also got extra-large, mostly double yokers…” I thanked him; jumbo was certainly big enough.

I believe these eggs are better than store bought, but does that make them so? The argument can be made that they are more ‘natural’ – they are free range (I could see the chickens running around myself), and do not under go any processing except the washing Steve or Wendy does. Then, hand, stove, mouth.

Driving home I smile, looking at the dozen sitting on the passenger seat beside me, busting from the container. I show Jamie my prize when I get home. Are they still simply a novelty for me? Natural is a term with a lot of stigma surrounding it. It barely means anything on it’s own – now every time it’s used we must define it. Despite this issue though, I think most people want more of this…natural thing.

If I feel better about serving a certain food, food with a happier story, I think it is better for those I am serving it to.

To be continued...

Feed us to Death

It’s a sunny Monday and I am tip-tapping away on the keys with these mint green fingernails of mine. Guilt wrenched me this morning, as it always does when I have been drinking the night before. I think more than drinking; it’s when I have smoked a cigarette or something, too. But all that wouldn’t matter so much if I hadn’t woken up alone.
I think that is a universal; if we share our guilty deed with other people, its memory becomes less than that of guilt, but more of ridiculousness, and an acceptable antic. Like if you were flirting with someone and told them your story about being wasted the night before, they’d just flirtingly hit you in the shoulder and say, “Oh, whateveryournameis.” And maybe even giggle.
But here’s the thing, last night all I did was have three vodka cranberries at home, with a new friend, and go out to meet two other new friends. I spent no money at the bar, and I smoked a total of one cigarette. Does guilt make one crazy? Supposedly, though, if one commits a ‘crime’ and does not feel guilty, that’s what implies the person’s insanity. But maybe that would be remorse, not necessarily guilt. What I feel most often in the morning, though, is not remorse. If anything, it’s guilt because I did not do anything to regret, and I maybe should have. This in turn, really just makes me paranoid, and paranoia makes me unable to really enjoy anything, and in turn, this must mean I actually am a bit insane. Apparently the dull kind of insane.

I’m inspired to rant today because I just finished Chuck Klosterman’s book, Killing Yourself to Live. I read it quickly, but was disappointed in the end. It’s a book you want to keep on reading, but not necessarily because it is inspiring, but because your not quite sure if what was supposed to happen, did. The title is witty and too-true, so it made me hold high expectations. His premise is super-interesting, but in the end, he really just takes a road trip by himself (which we all know would be super weird, boring and a bit depressing, spending so much time alone) and talks about the few women he has had sex with. It’s title gives me the same feeling Dave Eggars’ book of short stories did, entitled, How We Are Hungry. Eggars did a better job living up to the title’s prophecy. Both are very similar, and give me reason to believe that the stupid human feelings I have everyday are worth writing about, and may even be seen as important to some people. Hey, it’s all bout connection and feeling the one ness…yes, I have been called new age, and yes, I was insulted by the term, and got into an argument about it. I believe new age people can only live in the 90’s.
Most of us, if we are even slightly interesting, or interested in life, are killing ourselves to live, and this is because we are hungry. We are killing ourselves a bit with alcohol and/or drugs, and/or cigarettes a little bit, if we don’t end up going all the way. Maybe we are even just killing ourselves by working so hard towards some passion we may never conquer. I think these people are the best of us…And I don’t necessarily mean that they do the best or most productive things with their lives and time. It’s just the fact that they have to have some kind of desire; whether trying to reach a goal, or trying to drown out any voice that tells them they could have something to work towards (because it’s easier to do this than try and fail sometimes). This is better than boring, even if the cycle repeats. The passion is our hunger. Passion for greatness, passion for small things, or passion for cigarettes ad booze, is still passion. Love me.