Food Rules #61-64 (this is the end)

I'm excited to say this is the last blog entry of this series. Always on to new and interesting things, I say! I hope that these blog posts, really a summary of points from Michael Pollan's "Food Rules", which is really a summary of points from his other books "In Defense of Food", "Omnivore's Dilemma", et al, have been helpful and enlightening. Though over the years I sometimes found myself conflicted over my food choices, the most important thing I have walked away with after reading these books is that I feel Empowered. I may not always be able to choose organic or local. But I can make more and better choices in my routine based on the knowledge I've accumulated through these books. For example, I more often than not will choose a vegetarian option when I am not familiar with where that restaurant sources its meat from. Or the fact that I have a sense of delighted recognition when I'm in a place that serves Cedar Valley pork or Dietzler beef or Seedling fruit or Prairie Fruits Farm cheese - and I'm often more likely to order it because I know the producers, the integrity of their products and practices, and because it Tastes better! I hope you experience that too. And I hope this blog over the last year (and our shop!) has inspired and introduced you to eat more deliberately. That is, to seek out the source, the practices and the quality that you believe in.

Thank you for reading this over the last year. I'm planning a new series starting in February on something new. I'm still debating the topic - I'm not a food writer or journalist...I don't even really consider myself a "blogger" by profession. But I love teaching people and turning them on to new things. If you have any ideas for a new blog series, though, please let me know! I'd like for it to somehow be tied in with what I already spend 60 hours a week doing, which is ultimately to foster and promote small food entrepeneurs and provide a service to our customers as a small grocer/wine shop.

'Nuf said! Here are the last bits from "Food Rules":

#61. Leave something on your plate. Rather than take way too much food, perhaps we can all practice taking a little less, thereby eating less & developing more self control. (a work in progress for me, I must say!)

#62. Plant a vegetable garden if you have the space, a window box if you don't. The past few years my partner Joe and I have tried container gardening on our tiny balcony outside our condo here in Chicago. It's yielded some food, for sure. But more than that, I recall such a sense of excitement in both of us when we could walk out our door and see the little tomatoes growing - literally - each day! How gratifying! This past season we also invested in a plot at the Peterson Garden with 4 other people and while we opted for the "Farm 4 You" tier, where garden volunteers tended the plot for us, we did get around $150 dollars' worth of veggies for a $35 investment. Pollan lists a statistic from the National Gardening Association which says that a $70 investment will yield $600 worth of food. Another thing? Growing your own food helps you find more of a connection to it. I was recently told a story by Grant Kessler, a food photographer, customer and locavore, that his son won't eat a tomato at the dinner table but put him in a garden so he can see it on the vine and he'll pop it right into his mouth. There is definitely something to be said for seeing where the food comes from - besides the plasticy-wrapped, stemless vegetables we see in so many grocery stores. Growing some of your own food (or investing in a local farm via a CSA - community supported agriculture) also helps with the next rule:

#63. COOK. As a retail grocer I've observed more and more people trying their hand at cooking. When I first opened the shop (5 years ago next month!), it was very much a shop for cooks. I love to cook - it's thoroughly enjoyable and cathartic for me - and I thought Chicago being such a food town would mean there are many home cooks out there, right? Wrong. People wanted (and still want) prepared foods - we have such little free time that it's easier to grab something on the run and go. Over the last 5 years, though, with all the new cooking shows, a couple of top chef winners from Chicago and certainly a downturn in the economy, people are cooking more and ordering in less. I hope that people are becoming less intimidated by cooking, more inspired by all the great local food artisans out there and I also believe that Pollan has had an impact on what and how we are eating!

I love hearing about meals that our customers prepared, hearing the stories of how they or our staff utilize the products at our stores and I love sharing those ideas with others. And let me tell you - simple is really best. Eating well CAN be less expensive, less time consuming and less difficult than anyone would think. It just takes a bit more effort (self discipline?) on our part to do it.

#64. Break the rules once in a while. Pollan says (and I agree!): Obsessing over food rules is bad for our happiness. Many of us say it time and again: "All things in moderation". What matters is not breaking the rules once and a while for a special occasion, but what we do the rest of the time in our everyday routine.


Thank you for reading.