Wednesday, September 23, 2009

A Modest Proposal


I hope I'm not sounding too... self-righteous. To be sure, I know of no bigger hypocrite than yours truly. I'm just thinking out loud.


1.) You must grow your own vegetables, or know personally who grows/cans them.

2.) You must kill what you eat, or know personally who killed it.

3.) You must process your own beef/chicken/pork, or know personally who processed it.

3a.) You must milk your own cow, make your own butter, cheese, cream, or know personally who milked/made it. Newsflash! Making cheese isn't that hard.

4.) You must go fishing more a lot. (MANDATORY!!!)

5.) That whole seasonal/regional eating thing that people are so crazy about but don't do.


I love oranges, grapefruit and lemonade. It wouldn't be much of a drive for me here in Bama, but I'm not sure Keifus would be pleased with the cost of mail order citrus fruit.


Eating seasonally can be a drag, for obvious reasons. But it's critical.


Unrealistic? Sure. Draconian? Probably. Necessary?


Let's ask ourselves in 50 years, unless we've devolved into flesh-eating robot zombies from outer space.


Better yet, let's ask our grandkids.

12 comments:

Michael said...

I know a guy from Iowa who's going to be my vegetable dude from now on.

Kurt Schmeisser is my butcher. His family has been killing cattle for 3 generations. Incredible meats. Famous in these parts.

The fishing thing is on my spring to-do list. How in the hell did I let that hobby slip away? Used to go once a week, yet it's been 3 years now since I wet a line. Sheesh. The catch-and-release business is fine, but I'm going to start eating some of them.

Cindy said...

Just recently found a dairy 30 miles north that provides milk and cheese (which is wonderful) and the milk isn't ultra pasteurized so we can make that cheese!

Also made the contact with a local guy for goats and lamb. Still no one for beef, but that's okay.

The guy that is helping me make (and keep) my garden raises chickens. We are figuring out how many I can buy per month.

Fish I get from an actual fish market, and my dad (who is in the Fish business) says they are terrific and authentic. Two brothers, making a living. The salmon does have some oil associated with it. We don't eat it much, but we do eat the good Alaskan when we do.

Compost is my next project.

Seasonal eating is going to be different, for sure. We're starting out this fall with our first full-on seasonal approach. We're trying for three days a week.

(Hey, old dogs new tricks etc)

It's better than eating little Irish babies, no?

Keifus said...

Jesus, that is draconian--how could I live without fresh cilantro? I think eating seasonally in MA means scurvy and gout, which is why my family three generations ago didn't make it past 50 (that is not actually true). Can we say a larger fraction local? Real food, and no corn syrup?

K (and I'm still going to spend my Wednesdays whacking off to Top Chef, pal.)

twif said...

i'm with keifus. as much as i'd like to go local, new england mostly grows rocks. and apples. plenty of orchards near me, so i can get fruit. and i do try to hit the farmer's markets in season. but, well, i don't want to starve in the winter (or start canning). i can get the dairy locally too, and do so for milk, eggs and some cheeses (i need my stilton though). not really sure if there are any butchers left in this damn state.

David Marlow said...

What a bunch of WIMPS!!!

Baby steps, I suppose. We moved around a lot when I was growing up. The first thing mom tried to find in each new "town" was a butcher. In Pickerington, Ohio, there was actually a woman who sold eggs door-to-door. I swear mom would've kept chickens if dad hadn't intervened. Dad thought chicken wire was the most heinous thing ever invented. He must've really hated his dad's farm (though he visited at least once a year for the rest of his life).

I've asked this before: When did urban become superior to rural? I think I figured it out. The same time suburban become superior to urban. I blame the blacks. (And the Jews. Mustn't forget those pesky Jews, now.)

Cindy said...

I am not doing the farming either! But in looking around I was able to find people who are doing the farming (and the canning and freezing) and offering their produce for sale.

I'm counting it.

And, I blame Reagan. When ketchup became a vegetable even *I* knew we were screwed.

bright said...

"Don't kid yourself Jimmy. If a cow ever got the chance, he'd eat you and everyone you ever cared about!" So, nuts to them. I retired from fishing at age 13. That was the day that I caught 7 walleye on the lake and nobody else caught a thing. I rode my bike to/from work 3 days this week. Ate Michigan Honeycrips apples (with peanut butter) for lunch every day this week. Also.

Keifus said...

Honeycrips...they're good apples, but you do have to make sure you don't mix them with the Honeybloods.

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