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Monday, April 22, 2013

Farmers



― Wendell BerryBringing it to the Table: Writings on Farming and Food

“As Gil says, 'every man is called to give love to the work of his hands. Every man is called to be an artist." The small family farm is one of the last places - they are getting rarer every day - where men and women (and girls and boys, too) can answer that call to be an artist, to learn to give love to the work of their hands. It is one of the last places where the maker - and some farmers still do talk about "making the crops" - is responsible, from start to finish, for the thing made. This certainly is a spiritual value, but it is not for that reason an impractical or uneconomic one. In fact, from the exercise of this responsibility, this giving of love to the work of the hands, the farmer, the farm, the consumer, and the nation all stand to gain in the most practical ways: They gain the means of life, the goodness of food, and the longevity and dependability of the sources of food, both natural and cultural. The proper answer to the spiritual calling becomes, in turn, the proper fulfillment of physical need.'”


Check out Ecology Action...and the instructional videos....how wonderful to have found a life's mission!!


Ratatouille 'Caviar' 
(International Vegetarian Union)

SERVES 6
1 vidalia onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 zucchini, diced
1 medium sized eggplant, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
4 roma tomatoes, pulp and seed removed, diced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 fresh thyme sprigs
salt and pepper
In order to taste proper, vegetables have to be sautéed separately. Eggplant taste like poop if its boiled. Take a small pan, and start sautéeing the onions and the garlic in some olive oil.
When they are slightly browned, add to a pot.
In the same pan, cook all the vegetables (except for the tomato) separately, until they are slightly colored (we call that The Maillard Reaction!).
Then add the tomatoes and the thyme to the pot, and simmer on low heat until mixture hold together and looks like a compote (approx 30 minutes).
Taste, then season to your taste, If it's going to be served cold, add a little bit more salt.

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