Reconnecting with the Earth - Through Food

I have been slapping down some serious recipes on the Carving-Tree blog lately, but my intention for this blog is not to create only a recipe book. My intentions are to spark and ignite a passion or food, or if the passion flames on than to fan it. The recipes are the fodder.

I must admit I am excited for the fall soups and stews, the warm comfort foods, the spicy Indian curries, gooey casseroles and the tart apple ciders! The seasonal changes bring about a whole new array of tastes & recipes to prepare as well as new vegetables and foods to work with. A different attitude about cuisine, brought about by the weather, pushing us indoors demanding we settle down and cozy up for a few moments.


I think we forget how connected we are to the land that provides us with the bounty of life, (especially since we can buy Avocados in the winter time with conventional agriculture mind you they are $4/pc)--but traditionally we would only be blessed with certain vegetables or meats if we lived in the region in which it was grown or raised, and it would need to be in season. We are so spoiled! Its an amazing blessing and a hindrance at the same time. It's a hand that no other humans in history have been dealt. Who would have thought that the consequences of a stable source of food might mean an abstraction between us and our life-giving planet, or that we would be eating a very small variety of whole foods with the advent of monoculture, causing all kinds of diseases and allergies to run rampant in our society--& I am barely skimming the surface of all of the other issues that abound from our culture's need to feed!

It's so very important for each of us to stay in tune with the seasons, with what foods we are consuming & why, with the natural rhythm of the land--I mean as much as we can in our daily lives. Many of us work so damn much we are lucky to see the sun in the winter months for more than a few hours a day, and I am sure most of my readers are not farmers ;). In this situation it is of utmost importance to stay connected. Even if I am having a stressful day at work, and for lunch I pack a delicious slice of pumpkin pie, or a sweet potato curry suddenly I am transported to a bit of nature and I like feeling that connection. Through food & the simple act of sharing a meal we can reconnect with ourselves and each other. Not in the over consumption of foods, less consumption--higher quality of food & more celebration in every action.