Family, Future and Food... Part 3 (Food)

Part 3 - Food...

I love to cook... that is a phrase I never thought I would say.. but I really do love to cook!

Pre-Marchesini, I really didn't enjoy cooking. I think part of it was that I almost always felt like crap. But I think part of it was also that I was afraid of food to a certain extent. Food was my enemy.. and even though I had a few signature type dishes, I didn't get excited about cooking.

Now.. I am a HUGE foodie! I have learned a lot about food, cooking techniques, flavor, control, experimentation, variety... especially variety.

I now grow my own fruits & vegetables (in the little space I have). I (hopefully) grow carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, beets, parsnips, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and a wide variety of herbs (Basil, dill, rosemary, catnip, chives, parsley, sage, oregano & thyme). I say "hopefully" because some of those vegetables haven't grown to the point of harvest yet BUT they are getting there. So far this year we have had about a dozen radishes, 2 cherry tomatoes, at least a cup of raspberries, a few strawberries and nearly enough herbs to last the winter if I dry them. I am excited about the garden. I get such a rush from knowing that I put something in the ground and it grew.. and then I could eat it. So amazing!

My dream is that in my next house, I have a proper garden with a greenhouse! I am really interested in the idea of growing as much of my own food as I can in the summer (I am not really that keen on canning and preserving for the winter just yet) but I also really love the idea of the 100 mile challenge. I think everyone needs to stop relying on convenience foods and processed foods and we really should be buying food as local to us as possible. Why don't we support our neighbors? I was so mad in Co-op the other day because they didn't have any potatoes from Canada. All were imported from the USA. A few weeks ago I went to a free pork sandwich lunch offered by the Canadian Pork Producers. They were creating awareness that we need to buy Canadian pork because the pork producers here are really struggling. You can imagine the trickle effect. Less pork production = fewer pigs = fewer pigs to feed = farmers producing pig feed getting fewer orders etc... Canadian pork is perfectly safe to eat and it is a delicious and lean meat as well! (Depending on the cut). Anyway... my rant is.. When you are shopping for anything, know where it comes from and really try to buy as local as possible! (stepping down from soapbox now)

On a side note, I am excited about an organic beef farm I am becoming familiar with. I bought oxtails and beef soup bones from him last month and the quality was incredible so I have placed another order and he will bring it to the McKenzie Towne Farmer's Market!

I've been thinking a lot about my life and what I am passionate about and I realized that a big part of my passion is food (No, really!). I don't want to be a chef, but I think I am a good cook so I want to do something about it. So, I have decided to start really building my recipe repertoire. I am perfecting my favourite recipes and inventing some new ones based on some of the flavors I love. I have an angle I want to use and I think I have a really good idea that could make a really cool cookbook. I am hoping one day to get this cookbook published but quite frankly I think the research and experimentation will be all the fun! I have already started to experiment and I am really excited.

Unfortunately, with me wanting to cook ALL the time, poor Lauren never gets to cook. I have made it clear that all she needs to do is tell me she wants to cook and I will back off.. I have also let her know that some of her signature recipes should go into the cookbook as well.. but for supper, if I don't hear anything at least the night before, I am making plans in my head. I do tend to think about suppertime a whole day in advance but you kind of have to.. Whether it be taking something out of the freezer or using up leftovers, you need to have an idea of what you are going to have without being rigid and unflexible. We are really trying to use up all the stuff we have in the fridge/freezer.

Anyway.. thats about it for now. I am excited about everything.. Family, my future and food! Thanks for reading!