Something more real in France

[Fellowship]

I came across this link to these great pictures on one of the food blogs I visit. I really think it is refreshing to see real food grown the way nature provides for. Monsanto can stay away from this food. It just takes me away to another world. I live in a world where people eat tons of processed foods out of a box or out of a freezer. To see fresh healthy food compared to the processed crap so many Americans eat is really cool and vintage to me.

Humble

Real

Authentic

http://www.flickr.com/photos/clotilde/sets/72157601323455087/show/with/1059067837/

What do you think?

[segovius]

I came across this link to these great pictures on one of the food blogs I visit. I really think it is refreshing to see real food grown the way nature provides for. Monsanto can stay away from this food. It just takes me away to another world. I live in a world where people eat tons of processed foods out of a box or out of a freezer. To see fresh healthy food compared to the processed crap so many Americans eat is really cool and vintage to me.

Humble

Real

Authentic

http://www.flickr.com/photos/clotilde/sets/72157601323455087/show/with/1059067837/

What do you think?

Looks great....local grown food is the way to go. Here in Barcelona we get a basket of organic local grown produce - a big one - delivered for 20 Euros a week.

I just got back from a holiday in Languedoc (Rennes le Château for all you Saunière afficianados - if there are any) and the food was just amazing.... simple and unaffected but mind-blowing.

Fellowship, do you know about the Slow Food (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_Food) movement? Sounds like you'd like it...they have whole villages and specific restaurants affiliated now....

[SpamSandwich]

Eating 'real' is a choice in America too. If you care to visit your local Whole Foods, Sprouts or many other so-called natural/organic foods markets you can largely avoid the processed foods wormhole.

[dmz]

I just had a fish salad sandwich, on whole wheat bread made in my bread machine, and with fish that I caught/killed myself. There is a real world of eating/stewardship out there fellowship, you just may have to move away from Yee-Haw land to find it. (Although SpamSandwich has a point -- there are plenty of orgasmic choices out there.) Not to mention that you guys in the South can pretty much have year-round gardens if you wanted to.

Two words fellowship:

Wendell. Berry.


edit: Also, pickup or Netflix Jaques Pepin's Fast Food My Way series -- outstanding stuff.

[dmz]

I dunno, Austin isn't exactly "Yee Haw" land.

It's a big, progressive place these days.
Yes but that's...

**cue derogatory tone**

Austin

;)

I hear they even breast feed their babies down there, not something they let slide up DFW way.

[backtomac]

Giada made it look so much more appealing.

Giada is appealing. Except for the man hands.

[Fellowship]

Yee Haw is hardly where I live. Granted I do not live in Napa Valley. I do have some wonderful Grocery choices here such as Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Central Market ( http://www.centralmarket.com/cm/cmAbout.jsp ) which is an upscale place with fresh fish and vast produce / wine etc. I even have access to wonderful non chain bakeries with bread that is just like that of Paris France. http://www.themainbakery.com/

I just love the attention to hand crafted slow and real quality fresh food as the French are known for.

Fellows

[mydo]

That's kinda how I eat. We don't grow our own but we but from the farmers' market. Get a organic farm share. Eat some home grown. It reminds me of going to grandmas for the summer. Most of what we ate was home grown.

People do live that way in this country.

[Ptrash]

Eating 'real' is a choice in America too. If you care to visit your local Whole Foods, Sprouts or many other so-called natural/organic foods markets you can largely avoid the processed foods wormhole.

First of all, we don't call it whole paycheck for nothing. It's not really a choice if you can't afford it. In fact, that's the really sad thing; with-in 2 generations supermarket food and the stuff you'd buy at the farmers market have switched roles, the former now the budget item while the latter is the luxury item.

Second, in NYC we have a greenmarket (farmer's market) operating up the street from the Union Square whole foods. After shopping at the farmer's market whole food's produce doesn't look so tasty. Today natural and organic is just a marketing term, denoting gropwing practices around pesticides and fertilizers. (Twenty years ago there was a relationship with taste and freshness in some foodstores, but even then it was tentative--I'm thinking SF Realfoods in the mid to late 80s)

But wait, even some of that produce at the farmer's market looks a whole lot more manafactured than it did back in the 60s. I remember the time when tomatoes came in funny shapes--now they call those "heirlooms", and the red ones are square. The corn has changed also, as they attempt to create strains that have enough sugar to retain sweetenss for a few days, or even a week. Peaches are less seeet, probably to improve shelf life. Now the strawberries--I wouldn't buy them in any commerical grocery, although I imagine some food lovers stores still exist in various pockets of the country

PS When I was in Europe last Spring I heard the refrain over and over (in Poland no less, not a country known for it's great food): American food is horrible, especially the fruits and vegetables. Our food has been doctored for so long, we no longer have the standard bearers to compare it with.

[SpamSandwich]

PS When I was in Europe last Spring I heard the refrain over and over (in Poland no less, not a country known for it's great food): American food is horrible, especially the fruits and vegetables. Our food has been doctored for so long, we no longer have the standard bearers to compare it with.

On the other hand, when people from the Asian side of the planet come to the US, they are astounded by the quality and amount of food available. I tend to agree with them.

[Guybrush Threepwood]

True. Our dogs are much tastier over here...

[southside grabowski]

Many American prefer natural locally grown foods. Go to a small town in the American Midwest and look at the fresh produce, chicken, beef, pork eggs and milk. Such food continues to become more common in our cities. We have a beautiful farmers market a few blocks from my trailer here in Houston. You don’t have to eat processed rubbish in the US and you don’t have to be rich not to. Stop whining and go to the farmers market.

[SactoMan01]

Many American prefer natural locally grown foods. Go to a small town in the American Midwest and look at the fresh produce, chicken, beef, pork eggs and milk. Such food continues to become more common in our cities. We have a beautiful farmers market a few blocks from my trailer here in Houston. You don’t have to eat processed rubbish in the US and you don’t have to be rich not to. Stop whining and go to the farmers market.

I'm lucky because here in Sacramento, California we are literally in the heart of the Central Valley and only 3-4 hours' drive from the Salinas Valley near Monterey, some of the world's most productive and diverse farmland, no contest. As such, the local farmer's markets have a HUGE variety of locally-grown foods that really boggle the mind. We get superb strawberries and asparagus in the spring, lots of different vegetables in the summer, and lots of great vegetables from the Imperial Valley in the winter. 8-) And you wonder why some of the most cutting-edge restaurants in the USA are all in California.

[dutch pear]

Oh how this thread brings back memories of eating strawberries straight from the plant in my dads vegetable garden :)

Also french markets. Man I love french markets. Yummie! :)

[Fellowship]

I'm lucky because here in Sacramento, California we are literally in the heart of the Central Valley and only 3-4 hours' drive from the Salinas Valley near Monterey, some of the world's most productive and diverse farmland, no contest. As such, the local farmer's markets have a HUGE variety of locally-grown foods that really boggle the mind. We get superb strawberries and asparagus in the spring, lots of different vegetables in the summer, and lots of great vegetables from the Imperial Valley in the winter. 8-) And you wonder why some of the most cutting-edge restaurants in the USA are all in California.

In a way California must be similar to France as far as local crops and wine etc. are cared for cultivated and marketed. I wish more of the country could grow the diversity of foods you find in CA and Fr.

Fellows

[southside grabowski]

In a way California must be similar to France as far as local crops and wine etc. are cared for cultivated and marketed. I wish more of the country could grow the diversity of foods you find in CA and Fr.

Fellows

Ah Fellows....The Metroplex is not representative of most of the US. This is a very diverse country. Perhaps you have lived in Texas all of your life. There are a lot of very nice commmuities in this land.

[Guybrush Threepwood]

I'm lucky because here in Sacramento, California we are literally in the heart of the Central Valley and only 3-4 hours' drive from the Salinas Valley near Monterey, some of the world's most productive and diverse farmland, no contest. As such, the local farmer's markets have a HUGE variety of locally-grown foods that really boggle the mind. We get superb strawberries and asparagus in the spring, lots of different vegetables in the summer, and lots of great vegetables from the Imperial Valley in the winter. 8-) And you wonder why some of the most cutting-edge restaurants in the USA are all in California.

I wouldn't say "HUGE", but the little farmer's markets here have a fair amount of good seasonal crops. My only complaint is that the markets are too small and spreadout throughout the downtown parks. Too many times I have to remember to get a specific fruit or vegetable on a Wednesday because the Tuesday market doesn't carry it. I think that's the problem with most farmer's markets. They're just not big enough to meet the needs of most customers. It's nice to pick up a bag of peaches here and there, but I can't do all my fruit and vegetable shopping in one day with them. I don't have the time nor the patience to spreadout my grocery shopping throughout a whole week. That's probably why I end up going to the supermarket instead...

[Fellowship]

Ah Fellows....The Metroplex is not representative of most of the US. This is a very diverse country. Perhaps you have lived in Texas all of your life. There are a lot of very nice commmuities in this land.

When ya goin ta have me over to tha trailor ?

;) :p :lol:

Fellows

[southside grabowski]

When ya goin ta have me over to tha trailor ?

;) :p :lol:

Fellows

You get a few points for catching that Fellows:lol:

I think the proper language is: "When ya fixin ta "

[SactoMan01]

I wouldn't say "HUGE", but the little farmer's markets here have a fair amount of good seasonal crops. My only complaint is that the markets are too small and spreadout throughout the downtown parks. Too many times I have to remember to get a specific fruit or vegetable on a Wednesday because the Tuesday market doesn't carry it.

Try going to the one every Sunday morning beneath the W-X Freeway--that one has a pretty good variety of vegetables for sale almost every week. :)

[nvidia2008]

I came across this link to these great pictures on one of the food blogs I visit. I really think it is refreshing to see real food grown the way nature provides for. Monsanto can stay away from this food. It just takes me away to another world. I live in a world where people eat tons of processed foods out of a box or out of a freezer. To see fresh healthy food compared to the processed crap so many Americans eat is really cool and vintage to me.

Humble
Real
Authentic

http://www.flickr.com/photos/clotilde/sets/72157601323455087/show/with/1059067837/

What do you think?

When I was in SF Bay Area in 2000-2002 I developed some major GI problem stuff. I had to basically go gluten-free, and eat almost exclusively certified organic food.

In Australia in 2003 I worked for Greenpeace. Organic is one thing, Genetically Modified stuff is another -- it's pretty dodgy, that GM stuff.

Anyone with a Molecular Bio degree, Masters, PhD, etc. if you look up some of the literature on some of this GM stuff, it's, well, not as sophisticated (the GM techniques) as one would imagine.

[southside grabowski]

GMs like herbicide or insect resistance will have no effect on the eating experience. Other GMs like tomatoes that can be harvested red and transported without getting soft, greatly affect the eating experience. These modifications have some serious effects on the texture of the fruit.

[sandau]

food pr0n, all of it. yummy. thanks for the great pictures of france.

[SpamSandwich]

Many American prefer natural locally grown foods. Go to a small town in the American Midwest and look at the fresh produce, chicken, beef, pork eggs and milk. Such food continues to become more common in our cities. We have a beautiful farmers market a few blocks from my trailer here in Houston. You don’t have to eat processed rubbish in the US and you don’t have to be rich not to. Stop whining and go to the farmers market.

I agree. The whine you hear is the sound of laziness.

[mydo]

So the end of summer is here. When Fellowship started this thread the unstated question was "who in the US eats this way" my answer was "I kinda do".


With summer almost over it's time to morn the loss of these fresh fruits and vegetables. My house got an organic farm share this year which was very good. Thank you to my wife who seems to know what to do with all the fresh and unfamiliar (to most americans) veggies that came in each week. Who knew bitter greens could be so good?

I changed up my diet recently and lost 40 pounds. One new rule I had was "If it's a food that's good for you ... pig out". No one ever got fat eating fresh veggies.

Also this year we did square foot gardening (http://www.squarefootgardening.com/) which turned out very well. 36 square feet of garden, some green beans that didn't turn out, something that the local rabbits enjoyed, and 30 square feet of heirloom tomatoes. Right now I'm pigging out on a plate of fresh tomatoes with a little salt and pepper along with some locally made late harvest Riesling. With sleeping babies in the house it's a great afternoon.

So next summer get a farm share, grow your own, pig out on the good stuff.

[iPoster]

On the other hand, when people from the Asian side of the planet come to the US, they are astounded by the quality and amount of food available. I tend to agree with them.

Truth, when I went overseas to Asia and the Middle East, the stores over there made Food Lion look like heaven!

Farmer's markets are nice to shop at, there are some good ones in our area. We try to avoid processed foods as much as possible and even have our own truck garden, but like what was posted above organic/whole foods just can't compete in the price area and are primarily a luxury item today.

Not to mention that there is no way subsistence/low intensity/high labor farming techniques can support our current population, not without a huge increase in farmed acreage.