What our land can provide
March 14, 2009
Last summer, our book club agreed to read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I had very little interest in reading the book, but in true democratic fashion, I lost the vote. I’M SO GLAD I LOST!
The book, authored by Barbara Kingsolver, chronicles the year that she, her husband and two daughters, committed to a year of eating only locally grown food. The family had just moved from Arizona to a farm in Virginia where they prepared the land and started planting fruits and veggies, raising chickens and frequenting the local farmer’s market.
While I had no plans to commit our family to the same lifestyle, I was inspired. We planted our first vegetable, tomatoes, and my 18 month old daughter would go out to the plants every day, pick the cherry tomatoes off and pop them straight into her mouth. I even found my own mouth watering for the next batch of shiny red tomatoes, and I’m admittedly not a fan of vegetables ( but I’m trying! ).
Kingsolver’s family cooked and baked from scratch and included many of their seasonal menu plans and recipes in the book. Our family has used the pizza crust recipe frequently and I started making my own pizza and spaghetti sauce. I have to admit that I am proud of myself each time I make them from scratch ( not to mention the cost savings ).
The book kept my attention at all times as it waned from daily life on the farm to the inner workings of the produce industry, the history of heirloom tomatoes, and a trip to Italy. Kingsolver’s daughters, Camille and Lily, participated often with Camille providing the teenager’s view of the locavore lifestyle and Lily’s business venture of raising chickens and selling their eggs.
As most Americans are, I was raised on supermarket food and I never gave second thought to how our meals arrived at the table. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle changed all that. Now, I’m in awe of what our land can provide.
