Thursday, January 28, 2010

excited about vegetables (!!!)

Fueled by reading Michael Pollan's new missive, In Defense of Food, I got thinking about my eating and shopping habits.

I grew up eating well, three meals a day, dinner home-cooked, at the table, with my family. I came of age in an era where "foodies" run rampant. At Skidmore, my college surrounded by farms and apple orchards, it sometimes felt like liberals were on a mission to out-liberal one another. The more "crunchy" you were, the better. Then there was California, where farmer markets are the standard for grocery shopping, and local oranges are sold on the side of the freeway. 

All of this has contributed to a more or less conscious outlook on food. I eat a lot of colorful things, not too much meat, avoid processed food, go local/organic/free range/fair trade when possible, and enjoy cooking at home. 

My consumer pitfalls? 

1. Too much coffee 

2. Tesco: the a British combination of WaWa and Stop&Shop. Convenient it is - but EVERYTHING comes packaged, down to the bananas. The problem is that Tesco is less than a block away from my apartment, and it is one of few grocery stores open after, say, 7pm.

Starbucks is here to stay, but I have been looking for ways around the 2nd pitfall. This led me to some blogs about Green living in the UK. One blogger mentioned that she takes part in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program wherein farmers will delivery fresh, organic, local produce to your door every week. 

A little googling brought me to East Coast Organics Farm's website. I made the call and for £12 a week (split between my roommate and I) a box of fresh locally grown Scottish vegetables, eggs, cheese and bread shows up at our doorstep. 

It's so great!!!


Check out the dirt on those carrots! Talk about fresh! 


For information on getting your own CSA box in Edinburgh:
Now, time for some fresh whole wheat toast and jam. 

1 comment:

  1. I LOVE this! I had a CSA in Philly last year, and it was the best thing ever. And at this very moment I have sourdough bread rising, about to go in the oven! Way to find a way to eat locally in Scotland!

    ReplyDelete