Food, Food, Food!

Not a day goes by that all of us do not think about food! Even if you are not a "foodie", you still have to eat.  What patterns we have developed depend on so many different things.  How we grew up, what we love, what we can afford, if we like to cook, if we love fast food, are we dieting, are we being healthy?

Since we have been back in the States, we have gone through a series of phases regarding our eating. At first, we could not eat enough steak! Lordy, it was like we had been on a desert island, and finally arrived at Steak Paradise.  It was just the ability to actually buy delicious beef again.  Mexico does not offer good beef.  At least where we lived and shopped.

After crossing the border, the first place we ate was In and Out Burger!!  We asked the Border Agent where the closest one was, he laughed and pointed us in the right direction.  I remember sitting in the RV, surrounded by dogs and not even speaking.  I will never know if I was just overwhelmed to be back home, where I felt safe or the burger was so good.  I cried the whole time I ate it!

Of course, being in your own country brings such feelings of comfort when you are grocery shopping.  It might just be the lay out of the market, how clean it feels, how organized, or the familiar products. I am grateful for the bounty that we are afforded in this country. I am curious how much of it is really, truly good for us.

I am wondering about what goes into each food.  Chemicals, sugars, fats, trans fats, oh lordy, those are the only "buzz" words that come to my mind right now.  Obviously, we need to avoid processed food, boxed concoctions that we could make from scratch, but I really love crackers, I love chocolate, I love baking with sugar, I love cheese, oh my goodness I love bread, dough of all kinds!!

So I guess the next word is "moderation".  I am not fond of it.  Give me sugar by the boatful! 

We just had our first meal here in the South of deer cube steak.  Wow, it was delicious!  It was a gift from our friends family....I did not know what to expect, but I am sold.  So very good.  I asked my husband to ask the guys at work where we could buy it.  It is illegal to sell deer meat in South Carolina.  Who knew? 

This was the only picture before we woofed it down!

 

As we are trying to eat a healthier diet, grow more of our veggies and plan a seasonal harvest.  More and more questions get thrown into the mix.

 

We will try to keep growing more veggies each season.  We will continue to learn how to process and preserve our harvest.  I would love to grow our salad material all winter.  It is just a matter of a greenhouse and some heat.  I know we can make it happen.

 

I have many goals for next year.  I am hoping to become a better bread baker.  I really, really want to master a delicious pie crust!  Oh, that would be awesome.  Homemade tortillas are high on the list, as are delicious herbal flat crackers!!  Yummy, now if we could just get some goats, and I could learn to make goat cheese.......Baby steps, yet again...

but a girl has to dream on a cold fall day about delicious food yet to be made!

 

Bon Appetit!

 

Quote for the day:

 

"The act of putting into your mouth what the earth has grown is perhaps your most direct interaction with the earth."

 

Frances Moore Lappe

Diet for a Small Planet