The Convenience of Proximity

There are days when all I want to do after work is plop down on the couch, watch a favorite TV show and eat whatever is convenient. In the past that has usually been pizza or some other fast food, but when you have two huge rib chops from The Piggery lurking temptingly in your fridge and a yard full of fresh garden produce beckoning right outside your back door, convenient can take on a different meaning.

So tonight after coming home, somewhat withered from a relentless heat wave, we treated ourselves to those amazing chops, grilled and slathered in Dinosaur BBQ sauce, paired with roast apples, and accompanied by a garden sald of green-leaf lettuce and sugar snap peas with roast onion and mushrooms. I couldn't have felt more satisfied after, kicking my feet up and watching an episode of Lie to Me with Charlotte. I could definitely get used to this.

Independence Day

This 4th of July had me thinking on what I value most about living in America, and high on that list is the opportunity I've had to lead a self-determined life. I realize that opportunity is not distributed evenly in this country (nor anywhere else), but I won't pretend to resent that I do have it. Of all the choices I have the luxury of making, I believe that those I make about what I eat have some of the most regular and profound effects on my health and well-being and that of the community and environment in which I live.

Planting and nurturing a garden, watching it grow, and learning how to feed myself has become such a rewarding experience. Discovering the intricate connections between the living soil, the plants, pests, and beneficial organisms makes me feel aware of and connected to the natural world in a very fundamental way. Choosing what I grow grants me a huge variety of options for my culinary adventures; ones that are free of pesticide residue, fresher, and more nutritious than anything grown thousands of miles away. Obviously it also consumes a lot less energy.

Purchasing a significant portion of my food from local sources has also become a very fulfilling experience. I'm not a vegetarian, but I do want the animals that provide me with food to be treated as humanely as possible. Knowing the people that raise these animals (even becoming friends with some), I can see that they care deeply about the entire process of animal husbandry, and approach it with thoughtfulness, respect, ingenuity and care. The fact that the food they produce is safer, more nutritious, and tastier goes without saying.

I am very happy to support the local food economy, as I feel that doing so increases the health, security, and prosperity of Ithaca and the surrounding region. It supports the livelihood of people I care about, and helps to foster a robust local food web, which will become essential as energy prices inevitably rise.

With all of this in mind, we celebrated Independence Day with local food.

Breakfast was a delicious combination of scrambled eggs from Daring Drake Farms, bacon from The Piggery, and freshly-picked black raspberries.

For lunch, we enjoyed one of The Piggery's new items: hot dogs! They were perfect for the occasion, and accompanied by a fresh-picked garden salad with merlot lettuce, arugula, and snap peas, toped in a lemon-balsamic vinaigrette with basil and cilantro. Fresh-squeezed lemonade washed it down perfectly.

Dinner was a savory combination of Autumn Harvest Farms chicken roasted with fresh garden herbs (rosemary, tarragon, sage, and basil) and another wonderful garden salad. Choice never tasted so good.