While living in Brooklyn we were blessed with New York's collective heightened sense of food awareness, basically the desire to know where our food came from, how it was processed, and how it was brought to our markets. Our neighborhood, while on the lower level of the socio-economic scale, didn't really have the immediate access of a better heeled one, but if you knew where to go, and on what day, you had the luxury to get answers to any and all of those question.
Living where we do now, in Southern California, doesn't mean that people care less or want to know those things less (but it is kinda that way), it's just hasn't yet reached the overwhelming cultural awareness levels that it has back east.
I think one reason for that is a pair of phenomena happening: the first is that you have New York, the most urban environment in this country, having long ago abandoned farming meant having to basically import food for long enough to start to ask, "How can we make this a better situation for us, the farmer, and then as a consequence, the environment?" Seasonal, sustainable, and local were the three ideas that capture the imagination and are the final results of that query.
Out here, the second similar phenomena is that we're so close to farming sources that many people lose track of the fact that the vast majority of our food, while grown within a few hundred miles, is under the yolk of the enormous agri-business conglomerates, entities that are having a very specific effect on the environment, one that is demonstrably different that sustainable and organic. There are enough people out here, though, to support CSAs, which is a good sign.
We also have farmer's markets, and while they may pale in comparison to Union Square's farmer's market, that comparison might not be fair: you might have to go to London or Amsterdam or Marrakesh to find a more lively farmer's market than Saturdays at Union Square.
The CSA that Chef Gonzo and the missus use is Farm Fresh to You, a company located in California that utilizes different farms around the state, ensuring that their customers ranging all over can get seasonal produce from relatively close by, can know the food is grown with their interests at heart, and can feel good about to whom they give their money.
Our produce is delivered Friday morning. Right now we get the smallest box, and while there are lots of choices on box-combos, just take a look at a typical week's contents:
Not bad. Our closest farmers market is held on Fridays, but it's a little like the Wednesday Union Square market: a different crown of both vendors and customers. The real major market in our vicinity (by which I mean any place we don't need to drive to) is on Sunday's, and is a bit further afield, down by our Marina.
I make a point in this blog to discuss food items that are what I deem Mr. Eames considers Gonzo: made from scratch from random things in your cupboards and still attains a level of fineness. I try to come up with things that I make from a simple jumbling of ingredients, but really the idea is to give you as a reader enough resources to use your own material in a way consistent with our idea of Gonzo Cuisine.
I do put a certain emphasis on non-negotiables, like a nice Kosher salt and the specifics for when to use Extra Virgin (and only Extra Virgin) olive oil and when to use regular vegetable oil.
Giving readers the tools of knowledge in the kitchen is what the heart of this blog is about, but, I'm also interested in helping readers learn how to use their purchasing power as a tool against the destructive status quo. It's not politics, it's just good for everybody: you, the farmers, the environment.
Nobody expects anybody to live off of farm food solely, unless you live in Siberia, or on a very varied farm (I'm looking at you in Honduras), but just little actions in everyday life do add up.
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