At the Table

At the Table

Saturday night:  I was cooking a pretty fabulous dinner.  Chicken and mushrooms were braising slowly in a rich, garlic-peppercorn sauce.  Saffron risotto simmered along, absorbing more and more broth by the cup-full.  The smell of brownies wafted up from the oven.  Then... VOOP!  The power went out in our apartment.  The sizzling sounds quickly faded to silence upon the electric stove-top.

This would have been a gastronomic tragedy; however, our current housing above the camp kitchen permitted us to transport our pots and pans downstairs to continue cooking the meal over propane.  God bless propane.  If we have a real house someday, I so wish to have a propane stove!

The other alteration to our plans for the evening was that we ate at the table, by candlelight, over a tablecloth, with clean, cloth napkins.  Our previous plan was to put food on the coffee table and hunch over it, scarfing down dinner as we continued watching episodes of Breaking Bad.

The candlelit dinner (with a nice Zinfandel) was a much better experience for my husband and me.

Sadly, the two of us often resign ourselves to eating in front of the television.  We blame our surroundings for watching television daily (our home is very remote from friends, and it is too dang cold to play outside!); and yet we look forward to beginning school next year, since our work and new friends will keep us busy.  We also talk about how we don't want to watch television in the future when we have children, and CERTAINLY don't want to eat dinner with them in the living room.

I hope to continue the tradition of family dinners.  My parents had us stop homework or tv-watching every night to sit at the table and eat together.  They'd ask us what we learned at school ("Nooothinnggg.") and catch each other up on the events of the day.  Little did I know that this ritual was the foundation of our training as civilized persons.

In our "grain-bag society," people eat anywhere, anytime they want.  It's why we have drive-thrus at fast-food establishments.  It's why people stuff their purses with granola bars and candies.  It is this ubiquitous eating that has taken away any sign of etiquette and communal enjoyment of meals.

As you head into your Thanksgiving family get-togethers, take time to appreciate the effort put into the meal by the cook, the beautiful place-settings, and the faces of those you love.  Enjoy the conversation, in addition to all that gravy!

All this has been brought to mind because I've been doing a little reading about etiquette.  A very convincing. witty book by Judith Martin has been causing me to consider the implications of a "grain-bag society," and how I'd rather implement solid training-in-eating to my future children (forks and knives, not fingers).  Read on for your enlightenment and amusement:

I'm a fun guy...

Herb-encrusted chicken with porcini mushroom sauce.

It was on the lunch menu today.  It was delicious.

If you've ever driven past a mushroom farm, you wonder how a food so delicious can come out of a place that smells like so, so much poop.  Or, maybe you liken mushrooms to the very manure they grow in, inside those cinder block houses.

Fungi - is it on your menu?

Banned! but not here

In a world where....

In a country where food companies' lobbyists persuade our government to look the other way while they put poison in the victuals they sell:

"Ten American Foods That Are Banned in Other Countries"

http://topinfopost.com/2013/07/10/10-american-foods-that-are-banned-in-other-countries

Read this!  Inform yourself!  And beware of shopping at the grocery store!

We are certainly living in an age where it's easy to slip into paranoia about all the icky nasties in our food.  It's why we choose to grow our own vegetables, and why we buy what we need from the Amish or from health food stores.  This article provides a list of ten foods to avoid - for good reason!  Here is a brief summary of the list:

1.  Farmed Salmon (contains antibiotics, GMO feed; may damage eyesight)

2.  Genetically Modified Hawaiian Papaya (GMOs cause cancer, organ damage, birth defects, and sterility)

3.  Meats Containing Ractopamine (reduces reproductive functions, causes mastitis & behavioral changes)

4.  Flame Retardant Drinks - Gatorade & Mountain Dew, contain brominated vegetable oil (endocrine disrupter; causes skin rashes, acne, loss of appetite, fatigue, and cardiac arrhythmias")

5.  Foods Containing Artificial Dyes - mac & cheese, cereals, Jell-O (behavioral problems, cancer, birth defects)

6.  Arsenic-Laced Chicken (known carcinogen; chicken waste leeches arsenic into local water supplies)

7.  Bromated Flours/Bread Containing Potassium Bromate (kidney & nervous system damage, thyroid problems, cancer)

8.  Olestrea/Olean - "calorie-free fat substitute" found in chips (consumption results in "leaky bowels!")

9.  BHA & BHT - preservatives found in many foods (allergic reactions, organ system toxicity, cancer)

10.  Dairy Products with rBGH - Bovine Growth Hormone (carginogenic; promotes antibiotic-resistant bacteria)

Scared yet?  We are!  It's great incentive to keep on supporting farmers' markets, CSAs, and community garden projects.  Grow your own!  Cook from scratch!  Read those labels!

Our only other option for safe food is to move to Canada or Europe.  Who's coming with?

August

In the past two days, we have...

• made pesto
• made zucchini brownies
• harvested & frozen herbs
• made sauerkraut
• baked a loaf of whole-wheat-flax bread
• cooked summer squash stew
• finished a batch of kombucha
• blanched & frozen summer squash
• eaten our first ripe tomato
• drank a beer
• cooked & canned hot pepper jelly

AND

• not eaten any hot dogs.

Summer camp must be over!

Now Eating

Now eating:  hot dogs, hamburgers, plenty of mayonnaise....

2013

We are still eating.