So as I looked at my iGoogle page today, I scrolled down to see my latest eHow: How to Get Started in the Slow Food Movement. Well, first of all I had to see what Slow Food meant: Basically and simply, it's the opposite of fast food and has to do with taking time to eat food that's good, clean, and fair. This means no more fast food, pre-packaged, chemically- and DNA-enhanced foods. It means buying from your local farmer's market instead of getting something that came thousands of miles by plane, truck, and who knows what else. It means taking time to actually cook and grow your own food when possible. Really, it espouses what a lot of us have tried to do already--and thanks to my sister C., I will soon plant my own tiny vegetable garden complete with tomatoes, red onions, zucchini, sweet peppers, and hot peppers. That's all I got this past weekend at the farmer's market; I may even get more if things go well, but I don't want to go crazy. She's also informed me how to make my own compost heap, which greatly excites me. It all goes along with the Slow Food movement. If you check out the site, a lot of places have "conviviums" where like-minded slow-foodies get together and discuss...how to eat, buy, and grow more slowly, I guess. I've already found one in my general area, so I may check it out.It's all about what Crunchy Chicken and Feather Nester have written about lately, in a way. I think it all comes down to slowing down and taking stock of what we have. Now, I'll admit freely, I do love the convenience of a Lean Cuisine sometimes. I do. Call me a hypocrite if you will, but I do what I can to make my little changes, and I love to cook, so if I can incorporate good, healthy, local/organic food with minimal prep time, I'll be the happiest camper in the world. And if you have any suggestions as to how to do this, please let me know.
Here's my real question: How do you buy local/organic, Weight Watcher-friendly, non-expensive food and put it together in a fairly simple, timely way? Riddle me that, folks. Ooh, ooh, and it can't always be salad. Any thoughts? Want to help me put that cookbook together, Savory and Sweet, after your current one? Seriously, I'd love to hear any of your thoughts!
P.S. If you go to the eHow page and scroll to the bottom, it always has "thing you'll need". The first one listed? Time. I got a kick out of that, on several levels.
3 comments:
I love the Slow Food movement! We went to a Slow Food dinner at a winery last year and it was really great.
As for the other questions - we've figured out how to do healthy and slightly organic part, but it's the "fast and simple" part that usually trips us up. I've only found a few meals where I can claim to have all 4 parts... certain fish dishes, whole wheat pizza with feta and roasted tomatoes, etc.
Yes, and steaming things works pretty well. If I incorporate the rice cooker you gave us for our wedding and throw some veggies and shrimp on top, I've got a no-fuss, no-muss meal. So thanks, Scarlet and B!
Fortunately DH also loves to grill, so if I cut up (organic) veggies and buy locally produced meat, that will work.
This is from my dad; I hope you don't mind me posting this, but I think it's a good and funny comment:
S[an] F[rancisco] is just about the US center of the “Slow Food” movement. The founder of the movement, an Italian chef, gave a series of somewhat controversial talks here last year; he accused the very people that create the food for the movement , the local organic small growers, of gouging people with high prices at the weekly farmer’s markets, thereby driving away all but the well-to-do, a criticism which has some validity. Boy, the farmers, some of whom are nationally renown for the quality of their crops, were incensed. It was sort of like the merlot drinkers being mad at the cab drinkers.
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