I’m taking a brief interlude from “Pomegranate Week” to discuss something that has been on my mind these days.
Above is a picture of a meal my mom makes in Greece ever year, when the snails come out…Spicy Snail Stew with Onions, Tomatoes and Potatoes. It’s not a great picture, but I wanted to share because each of the ingredients are so fresh and compliment one another so beautifully. The snail essence infuses into the vegetables. The liquid reduces into a concentrated medley of veggie-seafood flavor. And this kind of meal applies directly to the subject of my post today- It’s easy, affordable, homey, and an exquisite result of local products.
We are all aware of the recent explosion of the “organic” “local product” “garden to plate” movement. There are different sections in the grocery store for organic products. Chefs in interviews, on cooking shows, and in recipes emphasize using organic this and organic that. Michelle Obama facilitated a White House produce garden. For some, this is an important and essential ideal for our health as a society. For others, it is elitist and impractical.
On food forums, such as Chowhound.com, people debate this topic with pretty feverish passion. When people are tight on money, have less resources in their respective areas, live in colder climates, or are busy working parents with two kids…I can understand how the criticism of processed, packaged foods feels like unfair personal attacks.
I feel so fortunate for the moments sitting on the steps with my great aunt in Karpathos, cracking open fresh almonds. The aroma alone…sigh. Or eating fresh eggs just hatched from my grandparent’s chickens…These pure experiences of ingredients is certainly ideal…
And I am idealistic, but I can be practical. I don’t raise chickens here in Athens. But there are countless recipes that are fast and affordable that do not come out of a box or can. Specialness of food needs to be demystified. It is not just for fine dining and connoisseur cooks. Even for those who do not enjoy the process of cooking, or see food as an afterthought to the course of their day…well, small choices make big differences. And I really do believe much can be achieved more simply that people may think.
No one needs to grow a garden in their small apartment balcony, or take 3 hours to cook a meal, or spend exorbitant amounts of money.
But isn’t it always better to strive for the healthiest options? Isn’t it better to be aware of our choices and the consequences of our choices?
Let each community strive to make this lifestyle more accessible for everyone. We have to start somewhere. Change is never a speedy process.
Here in Greece, we are lucky. It is much more accessible to get our hands on fresh yet inexpensive produce. There is Laiki, the open air market in a different neighborhood each day; In the center of Athens, the Agora is the mecca for food- spices, fruit, veggies, seafood, meat- all extremely fresh; Most neighborhoods are within walking distance of small-business produce markets.
Unlike most places in America, it is actually more affordable to buy from these smaller markets…
Which means we have fewer excuses. Why not support the local sellers of produce? It’s good for our economy and good for our bodies.
There are always better choices based on our respective means and opportunity. We can try to prepare seasonal ingredients which is healthier, affordable and tastier. We can buy frozen instead of canned if it’s not going to be fresh. I definitely boil and freeze the beautiful thin green beans that are only available in spring. Sure, I’d rather eat fresh- but I don’t have time today for grocery shopping, and so this is a better option than a powdered soup. I’m going to sautee some of the green beans with garlic. Choices.
This dialogue is important, and I’m glad it is happening.
What are your thoughts?
The main to keep in mind and to avoid the whole fresh or frozen question is that there are recipes for ALL year round, which means that you can should only do those that use fresh vegetables that are around at the time you choose to do it.
I find it very nice to have a sense of season for recipes.
For example, do you HAVE to cook stuffed tomatoes in winter? You will then have to buy imported or greenhouse tomatoes, which are not so good as summer tomatoes.
As far as to whether you should cook or use canned goods, I think that there really is no debate, unless you dont care about your health.
As bad as you may cook, it always healthier that most stuff you can buy ready or delivered.
Now as far as organic foods are concernes, there is a fine line between “organic” and true organic. There are numerous reports that farmers are getting the “organic” seal when having the same (non-organic) crops side by side, which means that they not really organic, but just baptized so.
It is good to try to buy organic, non-industry created stuff, like eggs and free farm chicken, but can you really do this when more than half are a scam?
Yes, jpeppas, you are right, its always best to choose seasonal ingredients.
I have also heard that many products are not really organic even though their label says so. I tend to trust my local butcher and local fruit markets more than supermarket chains, but it is true you never know! Unfortunately…
Nice article. I am a garden blogger and I am trying to grow more, but you are right… you don’t have to have your own garden to make better choices with eating good and organic food. We have local farmers market on the weekends here in San Diego and they have great prices. I liked finding your blog today! Thank you. Nadia
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I wish I had more of a green thumb. 🙂
It is a really helpful information about organic foods. I live in a village which is a small and and isolated place.
We are 120 km far from the nearest city and as a result we produce our own food. While doing that we use extreme caution
of our food to be organic so every information about organic is very important for me, thanks to the authors here.I also
found another useful guide for organic food and also so many other things about agriculturing, i recommend this
site to everyone who wants to learn useful informations.
http://agricultureguide.org/
thanks for the feedback, its an important issue.
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I moved to Greece three years ago from the UK. I want to grow vegetables but I was not very green fingered in the UK to begin with.
My main problem is not knowing the correct times to start planting things to coincide with the growing seasons here now.
In the UK I knew when to plant potatoes and onions and carrots etc because it was dictated to avoiding frosts. But here the weather is so mild all the time I’m not sure when is best to plant potatoes. I’ve been ecstatic to be able to harvest lemons twice a year from our trees – and the things that seem to grow without much fuss and bother from anyone – like wild fennel, sage, rock samphire, figs and nuts. But I would like to grow root veg.
I had a go at tomatoes last year on the balcony but they caught some sort of vine fungus and shrivelled up 😦
The potato I tried growing in a pot grew lots of leaves but no potato 😦
I have access to a plot of land but I want to know what I’m doing before going out there and making a twit of myself digging.
Any tips for when to plant root veg and I’d love to grow artichokes most of all but have’t a clue where to start. Help, please?