I am in my last year of my twenties, divorced mama (successfully co-parenting with her daddy) to the brilliant three-year-old (someone remind me to update this description in 2009, would you?) Sophia, and a skater for my local rollerderby league
I have been a member of SheKnows since 2004 when I was pregnant with Sophia and have been amazed by the friendships and connections I have formed here. Cheesy? Yes. Also very, very true.
I parent, I work, I skate (turn left).
I have been a member of SheKnows since 2004 when I was pregnant with Sophia and have been amazed by the friendships and connections I have formed here. Cheesy? Yes. Also very, very true.
I parent, I work, I skate (turn left).
Shockingly, My Latest Obsession Has Nothing to Do With Rollerskates. Mostly.
At Christmas, I took the time to lovingly prepare (just for me; Sophia was with her dad and I stuck around my house by myself) some seriously good eats.
I've always enjoyed cooking and consider myself a good cook. However, I'm such a fan of the pasta+cheese+wine food group (it's the big orange section on the food pyramid, right?) that I often forsake fruits and veggies.
Also, when I do a big shopping trip once a week, veggies and fruits often go bad or get overripe before I can eat them all - totally wasteful for someone on a budget!
Anyway, over Christmas, I was thinking about some deliberate choices I could make to eat a little fresher and with more self-luv (oh, God, the jokes I want to make here...the possibilities are ENDLESS). So I went to the bookstore and picked up Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food. It's not really a cookbook (got enough of those, though this does have recipes) - it's more of a tutorial in preparing wholesome foods from scratch.
So I've been reading this obsessively and realized that the hump for me to get over was the idea of the daily shopping trip to buy fresh-and-ripe-that-day produce and meat. While other people have to develop a taste for eating that stuff, I just have to develop a taste for getting in my car and going to the grocery (since our farmer's market is only open one day a week here) to pick up what I need for that night's dinner.
Already, it's made a huge difference...we're eating more vegetables and I've reconnected with my food. There is nothing so glorious in my mind as neatly chopping an onion or seasoning a piece of deliciously bloody (mmmm...not a vegetarian here at all) beef. The sheen of olive oil in a pan is starting to excite me in suspiciously lustful ways...
And it does sort of come back to rollerskating - if I want to be strong and have good endurance, I need to eat well.
So off I go to cut up beef chuck for a delicious beef stew we will eat tonight...
The beef in question:
You can see in the background the 70s-stylin' ceramic mug I drink my weekend coffee out of (even while prepping beef).
The beef stock for the beef stew (made with beef knuckles)(man, I just like saying the word "beef." Beef, beef, beef.):
I've always enjoyed cooking and consider myself a good cook. However, I'm such a fan of the pasta+cheese+wine food group (it's the big orange section on the food pyramid, right?) that I often forsake fruits and veggies.
Also, when I do a big shopping trip once a week, veggies and fruits often go bad or get overripe before I can eat them all - totally wasteful for someone on a budget!
Anyway, over Christmas, I was thinking about some deliberate choices I could make to eat a little fresher and with more self-luv (oh, God, the jokes I want to make here...the possibilities are ENDLESS). So I went to the bookstore and picked up Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food. It's not really a cookbook (got enough of those, though this does have recipes) - it's more of a tutorial in preparing wholesome foods from scratch.
So I've been reading this obsessively and realized that the hump for me to get over was the idea of the daily shopping trip to buy fresh-and-ripe-that-day produce and meat. While other people have to develop a taste for eating that stuff, I just have to develop a taste for getting in my car and going to the grocery (since our farmer's market is only open one day a week here) to pick up what I need for that night's dinner.
Already, it's made a huge difference...we're eating more vegetables and I've reconnected with my food. There is nothing so glorious in my mind as neatly chopping an onion or seasoning a piece of deliciously bloody (mmmm...not a vegetarian here at all) beef. The sheen of olive oil in a pan is starting to excite me in suspiciously lustful ways...
And it does sort of come back to rollerskating - if I want to be strong and have good endurance, I need to eat well.
So off I go to cut up beef chuck for a delicious beef stew we will eat tonight...
The beef in question:
You can see in the background the 70s-stylin' ceramic mug I drink my weekend coffee out of (even while prepping beef).
The beef stock for the beef stew (made with beef knuckles)(man, I just like saying the word "beef." Beef, beef, beef.):
Total Comments 7
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have you read "animal, vegetable, miracle" by barbara kingsolver? she goes even a step further with the fresh produce. i just wish i had more options for local shopping.
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Posted 01-20-2008 at 07:22 AM by amyblue
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I have skimmed it, Amyblue - excellent read. Around here, we have a farmer's market that is open TR mornings (impractical for those of us with 9-5, M-F jobs) and Saturday all day. We do have a local co-op that is an option, but it's incredibly inconvenient from my side of town. I've long maintained that eating well is difficult when one throws in socioeconomic factors and one's own personal tolerance for inconvenience (my threshold is sadly low).
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Posted 01-20-2008 at 07:44 AM by memarq0
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mine as well. i would have to drive 10 miles one way to go to a farmer's market, but in my area i would be woefully lacking in fresh produce for about 6 months out of the year. canning would have to be the way to go, but then you run into inconvenience and time constraints again.
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Posted 01-20-2008 at 11:13 AM by amyblue
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In NY we had the best farmer markets. I haven't found any in GA yet. Fresh veggies rock!
I've never used knuckles for stocks but, I do roast neck bones and then use those to make stock. Jude |
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Posted 01-20-2008 at 01:00 PM by Connor'sMom
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I loved Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and we have local veg box delivery along with farmers markets.
In that regard the area is very spoiled. And my husband would go crazy over that lovely beef  |
Posted 01-21-2008 at 02:15 PM by travellingmama
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Agreed - it's just the getting to the store that kills me sometimes!
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Posted 01-21-2008 at 02:43 PM by Kahlan79
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hmm that's some fft (no pun intended...) about going to the grocery store daily. i will go check that book out now
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Posted 02-03-2008 at 10:27 AM by Chopstickgirl
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