Tag Archives: food issues

Avoiding “Feral.”

Bill is out of town again. Traditionally, this means failing to feed myself properly. I know I’ve mentioned my lack of skill with lunches numerous times on this blog; now imagine that for all meals, days at a time.

Bill jokingly tells people I “go feral.” It’s not an inapt comparison. I kind of hunker down and do my own thing, and occasionally things are super different when he arrives. (Examples: a much messier or much cleaner house, furniture rearranged, etc.)

This time, the major thing I’m trying to do differently is be a little less terrible about what I eat. This, I won’t lie to you, is largely because my friend Tasha unintentionally intervened Sunday and fed me a healthful breakfast, then took me to a reasonable late lunch, then took me grocery shopping, and by the time it was all over I was inspired to eat from my freezer on Monday.… Continue reading →

A Bit More on the “Wheel” and the Food “Spoke”

I spent a great deal of time and effort figuring out what to say in my last post. Originally, it was less about not attending Good Food Festival and more about the disillusionment I’ve been feeling, but as GFF approached, and as I gave a lot of thought to it and heard a great deal about it, that post crystallized some of it in my head. While I’ll likely post from time to time, more on my thoughts about the messiness that is food, both politically and in the kitchen, I realized I had a short follow-up on “the wheel.”

So, fast recap: I tend to envision social progress as effectively a wheel, and people push on spokes they care about. All that pushing, and the wheel moves.… Continue reading →

To Do and Not To Do

Last year, I didn’t go to Good Food Fest Chicago due to a very frustrating mix up with them. This year, I just… didn’t.

It’s a little odd, I have to say. Last year was easier. I was sustained in my not going by my sheer frustration with FamilyFarmed.Org, who puts on the conference. This year, I made no conscious decisions and ended up not going. And, as it arrives here in Chicago, I find myself with a few regrets. But only a few.

My main interest and passion, when it comes to Good Food Fest, is the food policy summit. And, if I’d thought about it more, I maybe would have gone to just that. But, by now, I’m scheduled to work. And that’s a better choice, I think.… Continue reading →

This year is just not what I expected in food.

A few years ago, I discovered I actually like tomatoes. It took me a few years to totally come around on them (for awhile I thought it was just “orange” ones I liked), and the moment I did is totally my friend Corrine’s fault. (Thanks, Corrine!)

On Tuesday I’ll be taking a class on how to can tomatoes. I’m actually not sure I really need it, since my handy “Ball Book of Preserving”:http://www.metacookbook.com/permalink/ball-book-of-home-preserving.html makes it seem pretty damn easy. However, the class is fairly inexpensive, I’ll get a chance to see Logan Square Kitchen in person, and I’ll get to meet some people who are also interested in canning. So, why not?

Putting up tomatoes was a big goal for me this year, earlier in the year.… Continue reading →

My brain is full

I am about 100% sure of one thing: everyone who reads this blog knows me personally. I admit I could be wrong, but I’d be shocked as hell.

So, since I’m so confident that only people who know me read, I can be confident that it surprises no one to hear I went to “State of the Plate 2010”:http://stateoftheplate2010.com/ today. It is, as you can imagine, something I was extremely interested in. And it’s fairly close to where I live (as is so is all of CTA-accessible Chicagoland), so I had to attend.

I live tweeted as much as I could, but my comments may or may not have been as insightful as the others tweeting the experince. Namely, others tweeted more quotes and comments, so maybe I was more boring.… Continue reading →