Mendolonium

Long ago I made Thomas macaroni and cheese to which I added shredded carrots and peas (both from our backyard).  The first time I served it to him, he complained when he realized that the carrots were, in fact, a vegetable, not simply additional grated cheddar cheese as he had assumed.  I insisted that macaroni and cheese contained vegetables (Not only is it healthier, that’s the way I like it and since I do the cooking that’s the way it is).  We recently pulled our pea plants and used up the last of the frozen peas so that when I made macaroni and cheese last week there were no peas to be had to put in it.  In typical three year old fashion, is rather insistent about routine and complained loudly when he was served macaroni and cheese with only carrots.  I went to add peas to my grocery list for next time, but then I stopped remembering the bright flavor, the firm texture, and the fresh green smell of the peas straight off of the vines in our backyard.  In compassion the frozen grocery store peas are mushy and flavorless.  I decided then and there that we shall  buy no more sad grocery store peas.  They may have been grown in season, but eating them is not an enjoyable nor sustainable choice.  Long ago I committed to buying to only local fresh produce, but upping the ante to only in season, local produce – period:  no out of season fruits or vegetables unless I preserved them myself.  After I explained that the peas were no longer growing, reminding Thomas how we had yanked out all the pea plants together, he accepted the loss of the “green balls” and happily ate his carrots, macaroni, and cheese.  I realized contentedly that in his world it is normal for a kid living in the city to grow all their own tomatoes, to play in the compost, and accept that we only eat peas in the wintertime.   I started doing the Independence days challenge for our food security and sustainability but as the kids get older I am really seeing how important my actions are in influencing the next generation.  After lunch Thomas and I lamented the loss of the peas once again, but then excitedly began to discuss what food treasures awaited us this summer:  peaches, melons, blackberries, and tomatoes – just as it should be.

This past week we’ve:

Pant something:

• Tomatoes (tiny little seedlings started from seed)
• Cannelloni Beans (from seed)
• Cucumber (Marketmore 76, from seed)

Harvest something:

• Leeks
• Strawberries (just a few)

Preserve something:

• 14 half-pints of blackberry jam

Waste Not:

• Organized our garage so that we can find what we need, rather than buying new.
• Gave away unwanted items for free on craigslist rather than throwing them away to be sent to the landfill.

Want Not:

• Received a surprise gift of 8 lbs of strawberries, 7 lbs of blueberries, and 5 lbs of blackberries.  Probably $150 worth of berries, for free!  Better than Christmas!
• Ordered two 55 gallon water storage barrels and an emergency siphon, to store water in case of an earthquake or other disaster.

Eat the food:

• Eating leeks in everything.
• Tried a new empanada recipe, which I didn’t like.  It makes me very cranky to make bad food, but I suppose you have to weed through the bad to get to the good.

Build community food systems:

• Signed up to take a class to become a certified California “food safety manager”.  This is the first step in my opening a food-related small business, teaching sustainable cooking classes and food preservation to the community.

What have y’all been planting/preserving/organizing/eating in this glorious spring weather?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 27th, 2010 at 1:39 pm and is filed under Independence Days, Thomas. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.