Foraging thoughts are only a recent addition to my desire to become a locavore like Mary Boulton. But we’ve already discussed that in Fox in Woodland.
Barbara Kingsolver says in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle that all stories begin in one of two ways: “a stranger came to town” or else, “I set out upon a journey”. The rest is all just metaphor and simile she says. And just when I was ready to submit to the realism that I will never be Mary Boulton given my liking for the comforts of a city, I realized that Mary is in fact my stranger that came to town. She instilled a need for me to connect to my environment more and Barbara Kingsolver started me on a journey of going to farmers markets, making cheese, and attempting to make sourdough starter — with help from Amber Strocel‘s sourdough experiment. I also learnt that you don’t name your starter until a week has passed; it’s bad luck. My second (and name-less) attempt at making starter is going much better.
Like Barbara I now look at eggplants thinking they are lightbulbs, especially the white ones. And I have respect for the cold-weather saviour that is winter squash. Did I say that I’m addicted to delicata squash?
Barbara awaits the wild asparagus, describing the asparagus plant’s life history and the edge it holds as the year’s first major edible. “Waiting for foods to come into season means tasting them when they’re good” and appreciating them more since the time to taste them is short. This takes me back to my childhood where all children — without exception — would await the arrival of spring, not because of Norouz (well maybe partly because of Norouz), or because of its sunny day promises, or because it brought the end of the school year that much closer.
No.
The ubiquitous buzz of spring was about the arrival of the Persian Green Plum.
Photo Credit: Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotoosvanrobin/2451792480/)
These green sour-tasting and juicy plums, aka Goje Sabz, were valuable currency on any school’s playground. I would eat them until my stomach hurt, and repeat again the next day. So what’s happened? Why did I need Barbara to remind me of the joy of eating fruits and vegetables when the waiting is finally over?
My thoughts on Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: I can’t stop thinking about this book. Barbara Kingsolver with a sweet witty-ness wrote about her food adventures, provided recipes, and inspired action within me to make my own cheese, bread, and as many meals as possible. Most importantly for me, she provided solutions for those of us living in the city as to how we can connect with our food better and understand where our food comes from.
Phew.
I don’t have to be chased into the wild mountains of Alberta to be close to my food like Mary Boulton. Nor do I have to move to a farm. Thank you farmers market! I can continue to live in the city, go on foraging trips to Anthropologie for lemon-coloured sweaters and shirts with pear prints, while awaiting the arrival of spring and the green plum.
I am glad that this book inspired you! I read it for a book club and loads of people didnt like the book at all. I did. Here’s my review: http://trueconfessionsofasinglemother.blogspot.com/2009/10/animal-vegetable-miracle.html
I’m glad your second attempt at making starter is going better. I will keep my fingers crossed for you.
It also occurs to me that I have not yet named mine, and it’s several months old. Surely any bad luck window has passed, so I think need to think up a name. Maybe Sally? As in Sally Strocel the Sourdough Starter. It has a certain ring to it, I think!
(And I also enjoyed “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” immensely.)
I think it’s settled: Sally Strocel it shall be!
Wow, Mojgan – could I borrow this book from you? Michael Pollan and Alice Waters were my inspirations for being a locavore last year. This book sounds like it’ll ignite that passion again.
[...] for the filling: thanks to my Mary Boulton aspirations, I had saved a bag of blueberries from the summer farmer’s market. Photo Credit: [...]
[...] onions. I would have used white onions but as we have already established, I’m in a quest to become Mary Boulton-like and so have been going to Farmers Markets. Needless to say, green onions have become regular [...]