This wasn't such shock to my culinary order of things when we first met because, being a starving-intern type living in a 20-foot holiday trailer, meat was usually too expensive or too perishable to be bothered with. I was a psuedo-veg - an econo-veg if you will - to begin with. It was only when I decided to listen to my body (and some previous allergy tests) and cut wheat out of my diet once and for all did this become a hindrance to our mainly vegetarian kitchen (mainly referring to me, JJ has been a strict vegetarian for some 15 years or more). You know how it is, vegetarian means huge deli sandwiches on artisan rolls, seitan, tofurkey - and don't get me started on Italian fare: great pasta primaveras, delicate potato gnocchi, gooey stuffed manacottis, and PIZZA! Well, I don't have to tell you, the list goes on and on. How to satisfy us both without making two completely separate meals every night was that proverbial pink elephant in the room.
Now added to our dilemma are the questions surrounding soy and the whole protein matching game surrounding vegetarianism. Trying to eat local, or at least organic, or both. Then there are the blood-type diets, raw food diets, macrobiotic cooking, grain-free living, and the down & dirty science of nutrition - and the whole question of feeding ourselves became more of a head-spinning exercise at reading tables and charts and calculating daily values of this and that. And that, my friends, THAT sucks the joy out of food.
Low & behold we found that eating lots of what we love that is fresh, local and in season - and less of what we love that is rich with butter, flour and sugar - we struck a balance that tended to provide for most of our dietary needs and all of our culinary desires. The weight is on the palate in our kitchen - after all, its not really a nutrient powerhouse if you aren't actually eating it! We are also fortunate to have no burning desires for twinkies or big macs or other such highly refined, overprocessed, empty calorie "foods" full of unnatural fats and chemicals extending the shelf-life to the year 2050. If you are still consuming these, all I ask is why??? Our hedonism is indulging in good wine, velvety sauces, dark chocolate (MJ), and stinky cheese (JJ). Good for the soul, better for the body if in moderation - we all need to indulge, right!?
Now, I realize that in Oregon we are blessed with a long season and metropolitan growth boundary that together enable farmers to easily supply gorgeous food to an abundance of local farmers markets. This season is lengthened somewhat further by enlightened grocers, and the fact that Californian produce isn't really the devil it used to be when it's actually a neighbor state. That said, the closer that food grows the better. To that end we also cultivate herbs, lettuce and other green leafies, tomatoes, peppers, peas, favas, beets, tomatillos, grapes, sunchokes, artichokes and other edible flowers in our yard. I haven't quite won JJ over on having chickens for eggs (Portland lets you have 3 hens, which leads me to wonder about the rooster I hear cawing at the end of the alley, but I digress). I am also known for adding a liberal sprinkling of edible wildflowers and wild foods to the table. If you are still on big macs you will definitely need more time to get adjusted to these flavors - though I heartily recommend them as nutrient dense and vital foods that are undervalued in the modern diet. You may be able to grow more or forage less, but growing or visiting just a few edible plant friends wherever they may be keeps you atuned to the rhythm of the seasons. In that way too, I enjoy asparagus, berries, and burdock as they appear. Not only do they taste better when they are local rather than being from Mexico or New Zealand, but there is a certain joy in anticipation, then taking that flush of goodness to the height of culinary experimentation, and bidding farewell until next year (or better yet, preserving some of that peak of harvest to open like liquid sunshine in the dead of winter). Barbara Kingsolver sums it all up in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle:
Waiting for foods to come into season means tasting them when they're good, but waiting is also part of most value equations. Treating foods this way can help move 'eating' in the consumer's mind from the Routine Maintenance Department over to the Division of Recreation.So I invite you to join me on this culinary journey into the joyous surprises of seasonal, whole, vibrant, food that just happens to leave out meat and wheat but not deliciousness. Not convinced? I am here to tell you that it can be done! And it can taste good! And it can be a balanced meal that is healthy and has lots of protein! In fact, there is no reason that even you “un-restricted” general folk can’t implement some of these ideas to help your waistlines, your hearts, and your planet while feeding your friends and family food you’ll be proud of.
