Food, Glorious Food!

You may have noticed that the majority of this blog has been about food. That’s because food is awesome. Since reading Barbara Kingsolver’s delicious “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle,” I have become a little obsessed with eating local, fresh, and where possible, organic, produce. I don’t care what the skeptics say about organic food, you CAN taste the difference, and it is a million times better. The flavours! The colour! The variety! I mean, when was the last time you saw a round zucchin in the supermarket (pictured below)? I’ve been visiting the Eveleigh Farmer’s Markets for about two months now with my market buddy Len (hi Lenny!), and I’ve become utterly addicted. Not only is the food fabulous, but the people (who also happen to be the farmers) are utterly wonderful. Karen and her completely brilliant Willowbrae goat’s curd, David and Kerrie’s Hand ‘n’ Hoe sensational roasted macadamia nut butter (no really, it’s so good I’ve pretty much single-handedly made my way through three bottles of the stuff in less than two months) and the best garlic on the planet, Champion's Mountain Organics from the Central Coast with the best herbs, eggs, and veggies in the whole market, Yuri’s Sustainable Produce with the most wonderful seasonal fruits and farmers who will not take your money until your bag is full to bursting with produce (“It’s still not full enough. Here, have some grapes...”), and the Mancini family with their deliciously aromatic brilliant-for-cooking-but-so-good-you-could-use-it-as-a-dip The Little General olive oil from Griffith are among my favourites. Between the farmer’s markets and a new find, Harmony Wholefoods in Glebe, I’ve been able to eat pretty much all organic and mostly local food 7 days a week. I’ve been baking bread with wholegrain biodynamic flour (variations on a plain brown loaf have thus far included poppy seeds, oats, chia seeds, and rosemary), vegetable soups, salads bursting with so much flavour you don’t even need dressing, pizzas from scratch, tortillas, chickpea patties, fruit salads with apples, peaches, plums, pears, and passionfruit (oh my!) that have my office all sniffing the air enviously and asking where the delicious smell is coming from, freshly squeezed orange juice... And all this for less than $100 a week. Mmm hmm! Now let us all open our mouths and enjoy wonderful food, marvellous food, glorious food!