Migliorelli Farm has stopped selling carrots with the greens attached, having bowed to pressure from the consumer. I for one have bought my carrots at Migliorelli farm both for the excellence of their carrots as well as for the mass of curly crisp fresh greens that adorns each bunch.
Upon inquiry today, I was happily supplied with a large armful of carrot greens, a sink full really, and I came home and proceeded to make carrot top soup. Now G had never eaten a carrot top until recently, but he promptly wondered if I could get a mass of greens every week and make a years supply of Carrot Top Soup to keep in the Freezer.
Today’s carrot tops, with 6 cups of chicken stock and another 2 cups of water yielded 3 ½ quarts of intensely lovely soup. Hmm… I shall have to do this again.
The weekend’s culinary tasks, as well as an editorial in Friday’s Wall Street Journal, have got me musing on the issues of food and local vs Mass Market again. No revolutionary I, nor strident proponent of anything. I tend to think extremism is a bad thing, even in food. Yet I do like to eat local produce, meat, and dairy products when I can get them. This preference is primarily based on taste. The local produce tastes better than the stuff one gets in the grocery store. It is fresher and since it is harvested closer to ripeness, it has more flavor. It does not tend to be cheaper and here we get into problems. Most people I know who live in this area do not shop at the farm stands and farmer’s markets, or at least not regularly for all their summer produce. The biggest supporters of farm markets are the “weekend people”, the expatriates from NYC who come up for holidays and weekends. This is a good thing and I benefit from their largess on a daily basis because I have access to things that I would not were there no weekend population.
Yes, I do have qualms about big agribusiness. Yes I tend to feel increasingly uncomfortable with most meat produced in this country, run by large corporations who have reduced butchering to a dangerous job practiced by primarily underpaid unskilled laborers. Yes, I have major qualms about eating commercial chicken in a country which has made chicken farmers virtually into indentured servants. Goodness, I come from chicken farming stock, I cannot help but be appalled. But I don’t stop buying meat or chicken, although I try to buy more of it from local sources.
No, I am not totally a slave to reducing my ecological footprint. I buy Olive Oil from Italy or Greece or Spain. Since I can’t get the quality and freshness of olive oil I demand locally, and local merchants are constantly trying to change my mind, proffering me inferior quality olive oil becaue “it is so much cheaper” (I think there is a reason for this), I admit that my olive oil is delivered by the case by UPS. So is my coffee. Wine comes from local vendors as well as other sources. I am not saying there is anything wrong with New York State wine, just that I prefer something different.
I do think farmers should be allowed to be farmers and produce products they are proud of. I think they should be paid a reasonable amount for the fruits of their labor, an amount that allows them to live comfortably. Yes we would probably all pay more food. I don’t think this is a bad thing. I think Americans are very spoiled and we are so used to getting incredibly cheap food that we have lost all touch with reality. We do not realize the hidden costs of the food we buy. The costs are high. We pay them every day, but we don’t figure that into our food budget.
I made chicken stock this weekend, several gallons worth. The chicken came from Sam’s Club. I bought it there because it was cheap. Yes I sometimes have qualms about supporting WalMart and Sam’s Club, along with almost every other liberal American. And yes I agree with WalMart when they say that every American deserves to be able to afford good quality food. I would still make stock if I bought local chickens at a higher price. I already save bones and trimmings to make a variety of stocks. The freezer is full of bits and pieces. Yet I sometimes shop at WalMart. And yet… And yet…
I think we need to spend more money and time on food and less on stuff. Time spent on food, producing it, preparing it, sharing it with family and friends; these are the things that bring meaning to life. Not stuff. Stuff just makes us bored. Stuff just makes us want more stuff.
I don’t have any answers. I just have lots of aimless thoughts.