I didn’t see my dad very much this past Easter weekend. If the sun was up and no food was on the
table Dad was in his makeshift lean-to on the backside of the garage, next to
the woodshed and one good spit from the chicken coop. Inside the lean-to were two barrel woodstoves
snap-crackling the day away to cook maple sap my parents had been collecting
for several weeks. I wandered over from
time to time to check out the progress…but the progress on trip seven looked
very similar to the progress on trip one and the hens ran out of conversation
after the third visit, so I found other projects to keep me busy. Don’t get me wrong, I love that my folks make
maple syrup – but the sap cooking stage is one long yawn-fest.
While doing jobs around the farm that weren’t getting done
by the guy watching the wood burn and the sap bubble it struck me that my
parents, and to a great extent I, are able to spend the entire calendar year
procuring sustenance directly from the earth.
Catching fish through the ice dominates the first two to three months of
the year, followed by gathering sap for maple syrup from late March into
April. By mid-April my parents’
greenhouse is bursting to life with nearly half of the summer’s garden already
growing. Morel mushrooms pop up for
gathering in early May, followed by the open-water fishing season. By late June the fishing slows down, as do
the strawberry patches (tame and wild), just in time for the garden to start
producing. Wild blueberries and
raspberries (tame and wild) begin to ripen by the end of July, followed by
chokecherries in early August and high-bush cranberries a few weeks later. The garden tapers off by early September,
allowing for some fall fishing before deer (archery) and grouse hunting seasons
open, both of which get better and better through October. November is rifle season for deer, and if
we’re lucky and get some cold weather before Thanksgiving we can be on the ice
again and fishing by Christmas.
This progression came to mind again today (obviously since,
you know, I’m writing about it) as I ate some venison steaks that marinated
overnight before falling on to the grill.
By no means is my diet perfect or even close to 100% natural or organic,
but more often than not there is no mystery surrounding the main portion of my
meal. I shot the deer that was on my
plate today. I picked and shredded the
zucchini that was in the zucchini blueberry bread I ate for breakfast (side
note: I had to buy the blueberries – lousy year for wild berries last year). Last night’s sloppy joes were venison burger. The fish from the night before were caught on
Secret Lake #4 two weeks ago. The food I
don’t pick, catch, or kill myself I at least make from scratch – the zucchini
blueberry bread, the sloppy joe buns, and the coating for the fish were all the
result of my hands. Again, I am not
boasting about a perfect diet – I’m not interested in a perfect diet. I’m interested in eating tasty food, quality
food, chemical-free food...food that I have some ownership in.
My interest in food and its origins came from two sources –
a life-change that required me to begin cooking for myself and my daughters,
and a dear friend urging me to read the works of Michael Pollan, specifically
his book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”. The
book, and the documentary film “Food, Inc.”, caused me to see food as more than
just material that goes in the mouth and fills the stomach. Both also created some serious skepticism
about the “quality” of the food offered to us at grocery stores. So I changed.
Rather than deciding what to feed my daughters or myself I now think about what I can gather and create for us to eat. I buy ingredients; I do not buy meals that
come in boxes or bags. I have found,
tried, adjusted, and abandoned too many recipes to count. I make as much as I can from scratch. I almost never
buy meat, or eggs (remember those chickens I was talking to?), or veggies
(thank you, mom and dad’s garden), or bread.
I let my daughters help cook as often as I can. I talk to my girls about the importance of
choosing what we put in our body. I also
make a big deal about how good it feels, and tastes, to eat something that we
grew or caught or made ourselves.
The results? I don’t
eat as much as I used to; made-from-scratch is more filling than
processed….plus, the more I eat the more often I have to cook. Did I mention I don’t really like cooking and
I’m not very good at it? Both of those
are changing…a little….slowly. Despite
not being a great cook I do have great pride in eating something that took an
honest effort to create, especially if it actually tastes decent. I have a greater sense of thankfulness towards
nature for providing much of what my family eats and in turn work harder to
take care of nature so she’ll keep providing for me (look for a yarn about my
“deer farm”, coming soon to a blog post near you). Most importantly, I see my daughters
developing an appreciation for what real food is and the understanding that
food doesn’t really originate in a grocery store.
So, what can you do if you don’t hunt, fish, or garden? Find a farmer’s market. Find some recipes. Buy ingredients instead of pre-made
meals. Eat at home more and at
restaurants less. Buy a deer license and
let me get a deer for you. Buy a fishing
license and I’ll do the same with fish. Read
some books or articles about the food industry and big agriculture – you’ll
never look at a pork chop the same way again.
Make very small changes, one at a time, to your food production habits
and stick with the changes you like.
And, of course, start hunting, fishing, and gardening!
Oh, and one more thing:
Can anyone out there tell me about harvesting and processing
hazelnuts? I know they’re ready in late
September, I’ve gotta beat the squirrels to ‘em…but then what? The interweb has taught me a little – I’d like
to hear an authentic story about harvesting these natural nuts.
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