"Well," said Pooh, "What I like best--" and then he had to stop and think. Because although eating honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called.
Being Crunchy can mean lots of different things. I'm not exactly sure how I got started on my own path to crunchiness. Some of it was wanting to save money, some of it was wanting to save the planet. Some of it was just remembering the stuff I did with my parents as a kid and wanting to do more of it as an adult.
Now, much of what people would consider crunchy or green or environmentally friendly just seems smart to me. Common sense really. And inter-related.
Food is a really good example. When I was growing up, there was no such thing as a slow food movement, and eating locally meant doing the food shopping at the closet grocery store. But even without those things, Mom and Dad made sure we were part of the slow food movement and eating locally, before those movements existed. I think it was part accident, part necessity, and part design.
Dinner was a big deal in our house. Not because the food was fancy (casseroles usually aren't), but because we were all together, almost all the time. Dinner was the time to slow down and share our days with one another. For a while, MASH might have been on the TV while dinner was being prepared, but once everyone sat down to eat, the TV was usually replaced with some soft classical music. This part was by design. Mom and Dad understood the importance of sitting down together and talking, enjoying not only good, healthy food, but enjoying each others company. Slow Food (today's movement) is about more than that, but even then, my parents knew and taught us the importance of slowing down and taking part in each others lives.
We also grew up... well, not exactly poor, but without a lot of extra cash for the highly processed convenience foods you could buy then and now. We didn't eat a lot of hamburger helper type meals. Mom had a crock pot and that awesome meatloaf recipe after all. Who needs hamburger helper and why would you buy it? You don't need convenience and speedy meals when it's a priority to cook and eat together. And if you don't have lots of extra money to buy that kind of 'help'? Well, cooking (real cooking) becomes a necessity.
Now here comes the accidental part. My sister and I were in 4H growing up. Lots of the foods I loved then came out of various 4H projects. My parents led the group (that's not the accident), but I'm not sure they ever envisioned what it would become when they started. Picking strawberries, then making jam, and then winning ribbons at the county fair. Strawberry Jam is still my favorite kind. Smuckers has nothing on the stuff we could make. Raising chickens, selling the eggs and eating the eggs, more ribbons, more chickens. We even raised pigs for awhile. If we had gotten a cow or two, we would have had a regular farm. Anyway, the food was just better. All of it. Have you ever cracked open an egg that was laid a few hours ago? The yolk is bright, the white stays together instead of running all over. It's the way an egg should look, and you wont find these eggs in Super Walmart, no matter how quaint and wholesome the picture on the carton looks. The food was better because it was about as local as you could get- our own backyard. And it was a lot of fun. Not all of it (cleaning a chicken coop), but a lot of it was. My Dad could tell you about planting potatoes with me. I used to slice them up and as I was burying them I would say in my best potato voice "Oh no, you got dirt in my eye". My parents were localvores before it was the crunchy thing to do.
Fast forward from my childhood to today and what we know now. Books like Fast Food Nation and The Omnivore's Dilemma will tell you all about the perils of our industrial food chains. Or watch Food Inc. All sorts of well meaning organizations will tell you the importance of shopping locally in your community. Other organizations will point out the importance of slowing down and having dinner with your kids and the myriad benefits doing so will bring to your family. You can read all sorts of studies about the nutritional value (or lack of) in processed foods.
I don't want to harp on my politics to much (just remember that Crunchy is in the title, okay). The information is there if you're interested. Instead I'll just ask one question by way of argument.
Does anyone really doubt that a home cooked meal not only tastes better (and is better for you), but is less expensive and more enjoyable than McDonald's 'Value' meals?
Now I have eaten a lot of McDonald's. It does taste good (food scientists and marketing gurus make sure of that). When Autumn and I were both working crazy schedules, it was almost a necessity. Who wants to come home at 10:00pm and cook? Not me.
But this is one of the trade offs we made when I became a stay at home Dad. We knew we wouldn't be able to afford 'fast food' anymore, but we also knew we'd be able to spend less and eat better at home. We could make sure the boys grow up eating real food at a table instead of fast food from a cardboard box in front of the TV. Cooking for and eating with my family is one of the things I love about being a stay at home dad. It's so worth giving up the double quarter pounder with cheese and super size heart attack.
Tonight we had Corn Chowder and fresh baked biscuits. It's my Dad's recipe, and it's yummy. The potatoes are Maine grown, but everything else is 'from away' as they say in Maine. So, like me the ingredients are only semi crunchy. But we're working on it. This summer we hope to get our garden going and join a local CSA co-op. The corn in Dad's chowder came from his backyard, and it's not only sweeter, I feel better knowing it hasn't been bathed in pesticides. We'll get there soon. And when we do, we'll not only be eating healthier foods, we'll be supporting our local community and farmers instead of the agri-giants and all the hidden problems they bring to the dinner table. We have the rest right though. Dinner is a great time for us. I've tried more new recipes in the last two years than I did in the previous ten. We have a freezer full of strawberries that were picked just a town away this past summer. I have the time and the energy to bake up some short cake and whip some cream. And we all have the time to enjoy it.
The boys served as the official strawberry testers this past summer and did a bang up job. I can't wait for them to help me plant our own beds. And make our own jam. I hope they take after my sister and eat like rabbits right out of the garden. I hope they love getting their hands dirty as much as I do, and make jokes as they bury potatoes. I'm going to do my best to help them see how much fun it can be and how good it can taste. And I'm sure going to try and help them see how food and time and money and community are related. And how slowing down at dinner can help save the planet.
If you're intrigued, follow the links and see what's available in your area. Like Pooh, it's okay to stop and think about what you eat and why you enjoy it. And if you want to talk about these issues with your family over dinner, may I suggest a bowl Dad's Corn Chowder? Make a double batch and freeze half. Then when your tempted to get fast food on a busy night, you can warm up this creamy, sweet goodness instead.
Dad's Corn Chowder (with my improvements):
5-6 slices of bacon
1 large potato, chopped small
1 large onion, diced
1/4 red pepper chopped small
2-3 tablespoons of flour
2 cans of chicken broth
2 cups half & half or light cream
2 bags frozen corn (or fresh if you can get it!)
Salt, to taste
Pepper, taste
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon basil
1-2 tablespoons of parsley
1. Cook bacon and then remove from pan.
2. Add chopped onion, potato, and red pepper to bacon grease in pan and cook until the onion is soft. Add flour to make a roue.
3. Stir in the chicken broth and cream.
4. Add corn, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, basil, and parsley.
5. Thicken with cornstarch (about 2 tablespoons in water).
6. Simmer for about 30 minutes. Longer is better.
Crumble the bacon and sprinkle it on top when you serve it. I like cheddar garlic biscuits with this chowder. I hope you like it!
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