Saturday, November 22, 2014

On Why I Preserve Food

Today I took out of the freezer two jars. One is labeled "mixed fruit 7/14.” Last July I had some peaches and berries that were about to go bad, and we were going away for the weekend. I cooked them with a little sugar into sauce and froze it. This week I'll eat it on oatmeal for breakfast. The other jar is labeled "green salsa 9/14." At the end of September we pulled our tomato plants and I made a pureed green tomato salsa with onions, cilantro, and aji dulce peppers. We'll have that tomorrow night on big bowls of beans.

I preserve food for a number of reasons. Sometimes, like with the fruit that was about to go bad or the green tomatoes or the over-abundance of beets in my farm share, I can save something from the trash or the compost bin to be enjoyed another day. It's thrifty, and an act of gratitude for all the hard work that went into growing those fruits and tomatoes and beets. Every summer I freeze some fruits and vegetables like tomatoes and kale, because I like the idea of eating locally grown foods all year-round. I make my own pickles and some fruit sauces, because the store-bought version tend to be very expensive and/or full of ingredients I'd rather not eat.

I'm reading Tamar Adler's An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace. This is what she has to say about preserving food -

"What you preserve is the cheeriest memento mori. It is a way to say and mean: of everything that passes, this is what I choose to keep. It is a clear reminder, there for the tasting, of where and when and how you have lived."

Last March, when I began to feel that I really couldn't handle one more arctic blast, I found a bag of strawberries in the bottom of my chest freezer. I made strawberry sauce and shared it with my neighbors, explaining that last summer had come to remind us that the next summer was on its way.

 

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Alessia at 4

A week ago I looked down at Alessia in her bed and realized that the baby was all gone. Living in my house is a sensitive, smart, willful, and wild 4-year-old child.

She loves books and drawing and is teaching herself to write. She spends all day telling stories with her sister using found stuff for props.

She's so determined to be independent and in control that she's still not fully potty-trained as she just can't accept that she needs help for number two. At the same time she still doesn't dress herself, because she doesn't want to give up that moment of undivided attention and physical connection.

She is very fidgety and distractable. At meals we are constantly reminding her not to chew on her utensils or turn them into drumsticks. If we ask her to go get something, chances are something else will catch her eye on the way and she'll start telling a story and drawing or putting a few legos together.

She loves dirt and fingerpaint and everything sticky and tactile. That combined with her fidgetiness results in interesting mealtime messes that become kinestetic explorations (a fancy way of saying she will play with her milk after accidentally knocking it over).


She is shy around other children, which is why we have decided to send her to preschool this year. She is both very excited and nervous about preschool. Her first day is tomorrow.

She is very loving, although she almost never says the words "I love you," a scar left over from her sister's birth.

She is my first. Sometimes she sits in my lap and I put her head on my chest and tell her how she napped as a tiny baby lying snuggled up against me. I tell her (and myself) that growing up means letting go of some things and getting to do other things that you couldn't before. Happy Birthday, big girl!