I wouldn't say that I have an obsessive personality... Okay. Some of you who know me may be sniggering at that. Do I have an obsessive personality? Maybe? For some things? Really? Whatever. Let's move on.
So, as I was saying: I wouldn't say that I have an obsessive personality. But ever since reading Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, I haven't been able to look at an apple the same way. Nor any sort of produce, really. I can't stop thinking about how non-organic produce is chemical soaked, nutritionally void styrofoam; why would I waste my money, time and health on that?
So for about a year now, the variety and availability of produce in my fridge has been shrinking... Sure, eating locally through the MSRO and my own garden in the summer was bountiful and wonderful; but this winter has been bleeeeeeak. Always the same for my little Gatineau organic shopping cart: carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, apples, bananas, spinach and romaine, sometimes oranges. How's a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants-make-the-recipe-up-as-you-go cook supposed to survive on that?! For the first time in my life - THE FIRST TIME! - I've run out of inspiration (ergo, the slowly dwindling number of blog posts). The fight with the rotting sweet potato was the first symptom. Gaaaawd - that thing drove me nuts! Sitting at the back of the crisper, giving me the stare-down. Argh!
And I'm lazy! I could have promised myself that I'd drive all the way to Hull, or Ottawa, for a better selection of organic produce, but let's face it: that wasn't going to happen. Driving more than an hour round-trip each week to get my groceries was out of the question. So, after consulting with fellow converts-to-organic, I decided to compromise: I'll avoid the Dirty Dozen as much as humanly possible (gonna be tough when the first strawberries start coming in), and I'll buy organic when it's available. Sounds logical enough for some? It was a freakin' epiphany for me. I know. Slow learner.
So with that in mind, I hit my old greengrocer's with the enthusiasm of a kid at Christmas: the bright colours! The smells! The crapload of goodies! How I missed it. I held a sweet bell pepper in my hand, but I had the strength to set it back down, and I took some brussels sprouts instead (no wait - it's not a downgrade! They're equivalent! It's called "tossing it with bacon", people!) . So I'm happy again. It's so strange; I literally felt inspiration flowing back into my little cook's core as poked and sniffed the pineapple (which, by the way, is on sale for a dollar each at Marché Frais this week! I bought three!). So that's it for this post. I haven't cooked dinner yet, so I don't have anything to show you. I was just that excited to say that I felt like cooking again.
Talk to you soon!
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