From Pod to Plate

It began with a simple request - "Let's stop at Gerardi's on the way home..."

Gerardi's is a farmer's market that I have driven by for nearly all twelve years of my teaching. I don't know why, when I first set out on this quest for sustenance, I didn't think of Gerardi's right away, but I imagine that it has something to do with the fact that Gerardi's has become nothing more than scenery on my daily commute. A couple of weeks ago, when I was talking to my mother-in-law about my one trip to the St. George farmer's market, she thought I was talking about about Gerardi's. When I finally realized what she was talking about I thought, "Why not? I should check out Gerardi's!"

Today, my husband and I finally checked it out and cashed in. Due to a long stint of my sickness, a death in the family that caused my husband to leave town, followed by my husband suddenly suffering from some pretty severe back issues; our fridge and our pantries were barren - we were in desperate need of all types of sustenance! I thought, for sure, I was going to break the bank when it was time to ring up, but everything came to less than $40 - woo hoo!

There is one purchase that I planned on blogging about today: peas. As we walked around the market we grabbed some plums, a pineapple, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, cherries, strawberries, bananas, lemons, grapes and I looked longingly at bok choy, brussell sprouts and beets (ie. things I am a fan of, but still haven't convinced the husband of their true splendor), and then, at one point a large pie of pods caught my eye...


Whoa - look at that! The sign says "PEAS", but they are still in the PODS. Oh my... that is just so cool! That looks like fun!

I poked my husband and, as I smiled from ear to ear, said, "You want to try some fresh peas?" I was so excited by this prospect. Then came his response, "No, I don't want to do all of that work. That's just too much work."

Now let me pause for a moment. There are two reasons that this was NOT an appropriate response.

#1. It is the last week of school. Why is that relevant, you ask? Well, that's a really good question if you don't live in my world. In my world this is the week where students who didn't want to do the work all semester or all term come a callin' to beg for dispensation just in time for graduation. It is frustrating. It is unfair to those who worked SO hard all year to earn the right to graduate and... I will end this explanation there, before I continue ranting on about things that are not relevant to my sustenance.

#2. What is wrong with a little work to get some good food on the table? Am I the only one that has a desire to touch my food in its natural state? I appreciate where my food comes from even more when I can feel its skin versus its insides, when I can see its stem, its seeds, et cetera! In addition, this can all be safely said tonight because I have no lessons to write tonight, my year is coming to a close, my at-home work is winding down.

So, my response to my husband, "I don't think it's that big of a deal. I want to try them." A funny thing then happened - he started suggesting all types of things we could make with peas!

When we arrived home, I put our purchases in their appropriate places. For some, that meant the fridge, for some others, that meant our fruit bowl:

And then I realized it was high time that I got to work. I decided to check out my reference materials first to see exactly how much work I actually had in store (if you heard the tone of my husband's voice you would have thought that we would not be able to actually consume the peas after about a week of drudgery!).  I grabbed my copy of Vegetables Everyday by Jack Bishop feeling absolutely confident that Jack Bishop's sound advice would be soothing, rewarding and fodder for a later "I told you so," stance with my husband! I was, regrettably, wrong. I could not believe what I was reading, but even Jack Bishop - my veggie vishnu - wrote (And I QUOTE!!), "Part of the problem is the labor. It takes a long time to shell the peas and most people would rather not bother" (Bishop, 241). I read with mouth agape. How difficult was this going to be??? Of course, I read further, and Bishop's main point was that it was so difficult to find the right place to purchase fresh peas at just the right time, that, gathered all together, all of these variables made it seemingly not worth the effort especially since frozen peas weren't so terrible and snow peas make a suitable substitute.

However, there I was, in my kitchen with a pile of plain-old shelling peas and a point to make with my husband. I took a deep breath, grabbed my first pod and slightly squeezed it between my thumb and fore finger, when it split, straight down the middle and revealed and entire family of the cutest little peas I have ever seen! I took a picture of my first-ever shelling:

 (impressive, I know)

Not all of the pods split so simply, or were so full, but it was still so much fun. The peas were attached to the pod so I would slide my finger down the pod to pop - pop - pop - pop each pea out of the pod into my strainer waiting below. I guess it took a little while, I didn't time myself or anything, but it was fun (maybe I am a food-nerd or something). Here's how it turned out:

Only one, very important step remained: preparation. What should I do with these peas? Will their taste be worth the effort? Will my husband and Jack Bishop be right about it simply not being worth my efforts?? 

I selected a simple recipe from Bishop's book Buttered Peas with Fresh Herbs (Bishop, 247) and used chives as my "herb" since that is what I had. My husband wanted to have his peas with saffron rice and chicken and I thought this recipe would be mesh the best with this. (Side note: This was also a ridiculously easy recipe and I had already worked sooo hard, right?)

The results? 

They were super-delicious and worth the effort. 

However, if I want to believe what I read today, I should count myself as lucky that the stars aligned - the peas must have been picked today (yesterday the earliest), I bought them and, not knowing this, prepared them right away (peas, evidently, can NOT wait) and they were a relatively good batch of peas in the first place! Do I recommend that you try to make fresh peas yourself? Well, let me recount a bit of a conversation that happened tonight over dinner:

My Husband, out of nowhere says, "I feel lucky."

I, having no idea what he is talking about, because our previous conversation does not seem to connect to this, simply ask, "And why would that be?" (I was half-laughing, because I really never know what to expect from him!)

"I just had real peas. I don't think a lot of people - anyway, people I know - have eaten peas like this before. These are really good."

Whoa. He was serious, he was talking about the peas, and the experience of eating them made him feel "lucky." I understood what he meant, though... both of us could have easily traveled through this life without ever eating fresh peas, it is not something that is ever on anyone's life "to do" list, and it is really easy to avoid since frozen peas are not that bad, but the fresh peas were different - they were fresh and that's a flavor all its own!

It is something to consider when making your next meal. It doesn't have to be fresh peas, but is there something fresh you could be making that you would be lucky to have? Something that your senses and your sensibilities will thank you for?

On that note, it is time for dessert and I believe I have some berries waiting for me in the fridge!

Green Peas

Blue Gold

I, unfortunately, have some familiarity with dehydration. Due to the medication I take and the conditions I have I am constantly reminded by doctors, "Drink plenty of water," or "You should ALWAYS have a bottle of water with you," and, finally, "Nicole, when you don't drink enough, you lose your precious electrolytes - it can be VERY dangerous for you." I heed their advice, of course, but there are times when I simply can not keep up with the chemical or physical imbalance my body presents on a particular day or two and those times I find myself thirsty, weak, dry and, most of all, fragile.

It seems to me, especially tonight, that I would be remiss in my search for true sustenance without taking at least one blog moment to discuss that from which all life spews from: WATER.

Why tonight, you ask? It began with a thunder clap, then I heard the downpour. This was in the middle of my husband and I searching through Netflix to find something to rent. This did not matter to me, though, when I hear a deluge, there is only one thing I can do: run to the front door, with my two dogs to watch. It is a wonderful sight, smell and experience at this time of year. When the rain hits the cement a small fog evaporates, only in the first minutes of the downpour, then the smell finds you - a clean, fresh smell of the earth getting a clean rinse. Then, finally, I love to watch the trees sway in the wind, rocking back and forth ensuring every leaf gets a shot at its very own raindrop, they look just like the ladies in the shampoo commercials. And, then, shortly after, it quiets. Not that the storm ends, but the water is calmer now, the winds have slowed, because the tempest is tamed and falls into a rhythm. At that point, my show is over...

As I get up from sitting in front of the door I think to myself, I wish I had some buckets out there - that was so much water! I have been reading the special edition of the National Geographic on Water this week and, needless to say, it has raised some concerns.

And so, it was with this on my mind, that I came back to the couch, where my husband had a movie suggestion, "What about this one?" on the screen was, Blue Gold: World Water Wars. Does this man have the ability to read my mind? I instantly start spewing facts that I had read from the National Geographic, "Did you know that 97% of the water on Earth is salt water and, therefore, undrinkable? Did you know that of the remaining 3% of water only 1% IS drinkable?!" I pulled out my iPad, "You have to see these pictures of people buying baggies of water! Or spending FIVE HOURS A DAY walking to get dirty water!" He insisted I stop and we watch the movie, but there was one more thing I wanted to show him, one page of the National Geographic that just struck me - not a picture, but a few statements, here they are:

(National Geographic, April 2010)

"Wow, that's scary," he said, I agreed and we watched the movie. And, as for the movie - Wow, that was scary. This is another MUST SEE. Put it on your list with Food, Inc. This is a very important movie to see (or maybe you would rather read the book?). While Food, Inc. opened my eyes to the sins of industry, Blue Gold slapped me (HARD) in the face with them. I am forever in awe of the world created in the post World War era. I pray that we are not too far gone to grasp some semblance of sanity (or at least my version of it (: !!) again.

I am still processing much of what I saw in the movie, but I know this: water is not free, fresh and sent to us from the skies - it has been privatized on a scale so much larger than I ever imagined. Water is being traded on the stock market. People are dying because of water, not just because polluted, diseased water, but because of assassinations, suicides and gunshots in a water wars all over the world. I know that bottled water is a joke, but that joke is no longer funny. I know that we won't see ads about this problem, we probably won't hear anything on earth day about this... The powers that be have already begun their game of chess - strategies have been made, pieces have been placed, pawns will be sacrificed and too many of the players are still living by the mantra, "the man who dies with the most toys wins" without a care in the world about the devastation left in their wake. What does it mean when a dollar is more valuable than water? In other words, what does it mean when a dollar is more valuable than life?

So here's your homework:

1. Warm yourself up by watching The Story of Bottled Water. This is a short film on the Internet made by The Story of Stuff people (you should probably watch all of their videos if you haven't already!)

2. Check out the April 2010 Special Issue of National Geographic on Water. As usual, the pictures are breath taking, but the articles are also worth the time. Barbara Kingsolver wrote one article on water that I truly enjoyed (I always like her writing).

and, of course,

3. Watch Blue Gold: World Water Wars. It was originally aired on PBS, so you might actually find it re-run on there. We got it through Netflix, but you may find it in the library, too!

AND THERE"S AN EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT!!!

Extra Credit: Take the time to stop whatever you are doing to watch the next rainstorm you hear!

Drink up, enjoy, satiate your thirst, but be mindful. Appreciate your blue gold. :)

Avoiding GMOs - There's a Guide!!

I don't know how I missed this before in all of my web-trolling about food, but, today, while researching phytoremediation research (the study of plants fighting toxins and bad things in the air, the soil and, basically anywhere in the environment - yes, yes - I am home SICK AGAIN!) I, somehow, fell upon The Center for Food Safety which is simply amazing! On the home page of the site is

• the latest news in the food safety fight, as well as 
• a link for you to join the "True Food Network" in order to stay connected with their doings - I, of course, signed up!

Along the top of the page are a number of tabs (all of which I have not yet explored), one of which I simply could not ignore: "Non-GMO's Shoppers' Guide". Here is a snippet of their description of the guide:

After a long wait, we are pleased to announce the arrival of our updated, portable pocket shoppers’ guide to help you find and avoid GE ingredients wherever you shop. Our guide gives you valuable information on common GE ingredients, brands to look for, and look out for, and common sense tips to keep you in the know.

[UPDATE (3/30/2011): There's an APP for that now! The guide has bee made into a mobile phone application for iPhone and Android phnes as well.]

The guide is well-organized and has a "Non-GMO" and a "May Contain GMO" listing for each category. It also has, at the end of the guide, a list of "Invisible GM Ingredients" - those ingredients that may have been created using some GM product. All-in-all, I think this is a handy reference for anyone that is concerned about genetically modified food (as I am!!!), but should, as it all should be, be taken with a grain of salt. The sad, true fact is that the GMOs are out there growing and, as all of us who saw (or read) Jurassic Park know, "Life finds a way." I say this in response to the sobering "special note" found at the end of the guide:

SPECIAL NOTE: This guide was compiled based on company statements, not genetic testing. Any product labeled as Non- GMO indicates that it’s manufacturing process is designed to avoid GMOs, but consumers should be aware that GM contamination is possible due to natural pollen movement, weather events, seed contamination, or human error. Hence there is no guarantee such products are 100% free of GMOs.

...and so I am left wondering: are there or will there ever be any products free of GMOs? Terrifying thought.

The Food Experience

I've been blogging a lot about food - the buying of food, the cooking of food, the research of food and the finding of really good food, but what of the truest of all things that come to mind when we think of food - what about the consumption of food? The actual act of eating the food? Have I lost sight of what this is all about?

The simple answer is: no. It is simply that I believe that for most of us this is where our focus has always been, leaving us nearly blind to all of the other facets of food. It was my feeling when I began this blog that I did not need to worry about the consumption portion of the conversation, because that was something that I simply had already mastered and understood so completely - there was no need for any reflection. I was wrong.

I had an epiphany of taste today and it came from, if you can even believe this, an English muffin.

Let me back up for a moment to contextualize this conversation before I go any further. I have been home sick since last Thursday as a result of one of the worst Ileitis/Crohn's disease flare ups I have ever experienced. I have been a slave to the ever so bland "BRAT diet" (Bananas, Rice, Applesauce and Toast) for five days running. I have, in my kitchen, waiting for me (and so far still safe to consume since being purchased Tuesday night): organic potatoes, a head of cauliflower, fresh asparagus, baby spinach, red tomatoes and, lord help me, they look amazing - fresh red strawberries... but I can eat none of them. I can eat only the BRAT. Needless to say, I ran out of BRAT supplies quickly, so, yesterday, after coming out of the hospital with a discharge letter saying: eat BRAT and see your GI ASAP, my husband took me over to the supermarket to get more BRAT stuff. As I was grabbing a loaf of white bread, I had a stroke of inspiration - English Muffins are just like toast, so I grabbed them. Which leads us back to today...

The English Muffin Moment - A True Food Experience

Thomas' English muffins are not organic, they are not fresh, and I did not, unfortunately pick them up at a local bakery or market straight from the baker's hands... I bought them at King Kullen. Their list of ingredients is also not something I would shout from the rooftops as an exemplar of the untainted foods I am on a quest to find to nourish myself with on this "Search for Sustenance" I have set forth upon. However, today, this morning. no one could convince me of the virtues of any other food stuff outweighing that of my luscious english muffin.

I woke with, yet again, an unsettled stomach - waging war upon itself over issues no soldier in the battle could even remember - and feeling as though I had been beaten before my day even began, stumbled into the kitchen. When I entered I noticed my husband had left out the toaster for me, a glimmer of hope for a day filled with small serendipity. I clambered to the cabinet, grasped the familiar orange and white box set inside a clear plastic bag and fumbled for a muffin. After forking the muffin in two, I placed each piece (one always smaller than the other!) into the toaster slots and waited.

When they popped, I was already taken a-back at the beauty of my English muffin. I thought about taking a picture of the toasted masterpiece because it looked just like the commercial. I almost grabbed my phone to take a picture, but my stomach lurched and I knew not to break the cardinal rule of English muffin consumption - eat while still warm! I put a hint of butter on each muffin half, stacked them on top of each other to contain the heat and melt the butter and brought the muffins back to bed (I never do this, but my tummy was making the rules).

I sat down, put the covers back over me and closed my eyes. I wanted to get through eating the muffin without any stomach interruptions...

With my eyes closed, I bit down and my other senses took over. I could smell the warm muffin with the hint of butter as it passed under my nose to my lips. I could feel every nook and cranny gently scrape the roof of my mouth as the grains on the bottom of the muffin half rolled along my tongue. I could hear every crunch and crackle as the nooks and crannies burst in my mouth to reveal their soft inner, un-toasted, yet still warm, muffin yumminess. And I could TASTE , of course I could taste! - the butter, the muffin, the toasted outer parts, the warm insides - so DELICIOUS. And with every bite I repeated the same ritual.

I found myself chewing longer just to savor the experience, listening closely, recognizing that even sound plays a part in the true food experience! It was fantastic, it was wonderful, it was sustenance not only for my stomach, but for my soul and my sanity. I had been going mad with blandness and limitations - sure that I could never, in fact, get better without sustenance.

The whole experience called to mind a book I picked up some months before I started losing my vision called The Flavor Bible. It was one of those books that I planned to read over a long course of time, perusing here and there as the mood strikes, instead of reading by brute force cover to cover. Well, I recall, in the beginning of the book, the authors began to discuss the many levels and aspects of taste - calling in all of the senses and even emotion/sentimentality. I am paraphrasing because I, of course, do not have the book in front of me, but I imagine that if you have the opportunity to flip through this book or decide to buy it (I think it might be worth it!), you might see the true validity and possibility in the mundane English Muffin becoming quite so spectacular for me today.

I challenge you to have an epiphany of taste. Eat quietly, eat purposefully and enjoy the experience. Yes, we need food to live, but let's really think about that we need food to LIVE. What if the food experience defines our living - not just by what we eat but also by how we eat it? This is something to think about when we are rushing in a breakfast or lunch while juggling all types of life things around at the same time! This is definitely something to think about when eating dinner in front of a television or over a pile of work...

Well, if nothing else (I am really sorry, I can not avoid this pun), it is food for thought.