Late Fall Musings

I've been reflecting that there is so much to write about, and yet, so little in some ways. While I have a few recipe alerts, I also feel that I should be waxing poetic about something in the news as it relates to food, or agriculture, or preservatives, or what not. It's a good thing that I was running around like a chicken with it's you-know-what cut off when that study came out about organic veggies not being healthier. I did a lot of reading and following up on that study, how it was conducted (badly), what it was missing (a lot), and what else it was missing (the big picture). I have a lot of opinions on it which could be a 3 page manifesto. But don't worry, I won't go off on a rant about that. At least, not now.

I think this post is more of a thoughtful one, the kind of post that I had originally intended this blog to be: a journey through my Au Naturale "conversion", if you will. It's a post dedicated to the idea that having nothing to write about is, in and of itself, something to write about. It's the fact that I look back at what I've been eating over the past few months and my diet is somewhat unremarkable. And that- again, in and of itself- is remarkable. At least by other people's standards, but now no longer by my own.

"Okay, JC," I can hear all of you collectively sigh with accompanying eye roll. "Stop being so elusive and just say what it is you want to say."

What I've realized is that over the past few months, as much as I have been able to control it, my diet has been completely Au Naturale. I eat mainly what has come in our farm box or available at the market, supplemented by basic ingredients commonly found in grocery store bulk bins. The rare packaged goods are scary-word free. Much to my surprise, I'm also eating way more vegetarian than I ever have before. That is mainly due to the fact that we won't buy any meat that isn't raised humanely and properly (read: pastured), and considering the best meat can only be found at the Sunday market and at a premium price, it's become a special occasion type of thing. Long gone are the days where I bought packages and packages of steaks and chicken breasts to throw in the freezer. I've been better even in restaurants, sticking mostly with sustainable seafood or black bean burgers, but I'm not perfect. The lack of meat in the house means I'm now craving chicken on menus (I used to make chicken at home on an almost nightly basis so I ignored it in restaurants). Don't worry, though. I don't plan on becoming a full-blown vegetarian. In fact, I've had such a strong craving for red meat lately, I've been dreaming of the 2 pasture-raised strip steaks I snatched up just yesterday to enjoy with an awesome chimichurri sauce I haven't made in a long time. Mmm.... meat....

So for me, this is boring. And boring is exciting. I remember when I first started and I obsessed over every little thing, kept feeling like I was slipping up here and there. As I mentioned, I'm not perfect. But I'm feeling pretty good. In fact, while I'm not looking forward to my farm box ending in another month and a half, I am kinda looking forward to the day in late December when I get confused upon walking into a Whole Foods, having not had to shop for groceries, traditionally speaking, since May.

Reading this over, it almost sounds like a farewell post. Fear not, loyal readers! Much fun shall still be had with this blog. I've also realized that I don't necessarily need to write a novel each time I post; if anything, I should take a note from tumblr and keep this short and frequent. But as we've all figured out by now, I like to write. A lot. And so I shall continue....