Simplicity
“Simplicity is incredibly valuable.
It doesn’t mean that you haven’t
thought something through.
In fact, it’s the reverse—
you’ve thought it through so well
that you can just do it simply.”
Alice Waters
Alice Waters is the chef and founder of Chez Panisse, a Berkley California restaurant with an exceptional amount of awards for excellence. She’s a James Beard Award winner, actually the first woman to be named Best Chef in America by the James Beard Foundation, so that’s cool! Alice is an author and an incredible advocate for her craft in its truest form.
For over forty years, Alice has been an activist for sustainable agriculture, creating and taking part in many programs that promote local farming, including the “Edible Schoolyard Project, which advocates for a free school lunch for all children and a sustainable food curriculum in every public school…. In 2015 she was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Obama,
proving
that eating
is a political act
and that the table
is a powerful means
to social justice
and positive change.”
Quoted here from Alice Waters’ bio, the words in bold are my favorite collaboration of letters ever! At Chez Panisse, Alice and the chefs don’t work from recipes. They work closely with farmers and growers, and create a menu out of what is most alive, most in-season, and most made for this moment. You can taste that!
You can taste the happiness that a turnip enjoyed by the depth of her flavor. A happy turnip, living well in the care of a hard-working human’s hands, with room to grow, and enough space to feel the breeze waft through the strands of her leaves up above, living a life that any turnip would hope for. Her only annoyance, the faint clanging of an aluminum representation of health and safety.
You can also taste the opposite. The turnip doomed for a final curtain that leaves us thinking that we don’t like turnips. This turnip, never given the opportunity to live up to her full potential, crowded into a lifetime of slow poisons and fake sunlight, never feeling the warmth of her own curator’s goodness, this turnip should listen to Ani Difranco. She is the saddest turnip, and needs to be empowered. A little vinegar might help. It’s not her fault, I know. But we should not be supporting the people who ruined this life.
I’m going to jump on over there unapologetically, and tell you: there are also happy cows…
Simplicity is incredibly valuable. Making a dish starts, very simply, with trauma-free ingredients who had a good life. Grow your own, and support local farmers. I promise, if you’ve only had a turnip from the grocery store, you’ve never actually tasted a turnip. Or an apple. Or a summertime tomato.
To be clear, I’m not saying you should only buy organic. I’m saying you should only buy local. Not labeled local at the grocery store. That’s not real, unless you’re at a locally owned Mom & Pop, or a close-to-home international market. Go to one of these places or a farmers’ market, and buy your food from a real person with a real family who really cares about the food they’ve helped to cultivate. They are lovingly crafting food that was created to sustain you, and they are the only ones who mean to do that.
So this is me, thanking Alice Waters for spending her life bringing this truth to tables, and making it simple for us all to get on board with, if we’re paying attention.
Want to play the game?
Look around for freshness that lives in your community. My suggestions?
Buy at the farmers’ market - fruits, veggies, meat, and even baked goods. You’ve been to one, right?
Have a nice walk outside smiling at friendly humans who live to feed you. Talk to the farmers. They know SO much, and there’s a lot we can learn from people who know sustainability in a broader way than just the labeling term.
Ask them about this particular turnip’s varietal, ask what they’d do to cook it, and what health it will bring to you and your family. And thank them for all their hard work. These people work really hard to make food that is real, and we should be appreciative.
[I’m going to have to elaborate on this somewhere else, but you should also know that if they aren’t happily telling you about their farm, they might be buying vegetables from Sysco and just standing out there as a pretender. This is not the case always, but it is sometimes, and while I’m so sorry to have to tell you this, I do just have to. You’ll know when they are real, now that you know that some are not.]
Look for a local CSA. Most of them grow all year, and create a weekly or bi-weekly assortment of goodness, often with some recipe ideas based on what’s in your basket. Many of these even deliver.
Look for local grocers. Like I mentioned earlier, Mom & Pop stores often have produce from nearby but you’ll have to ask to be sure. Ask, “Where do you get your produce from?” not “Do you get your produce locally?” You understand?
In Murfreesboro, TN my favorite of these is ‘The Hamery.’ Bob Woods is curing Tennessee hams that make Italian prosciutto jealous, and he has a handful of offerings from other local farmers and purveyors of deliciousness.
Look for international markets in your area. These are not always easy to find. Most that I have found don’t have websites or even listings in the yellow pages. The white pages? Hmmm… it super doesn’t matter anymore. The place where we used to look.
Your best bet is to go to your favorite Thai restaurant, and ask them where their local grocer is located. Or Korean, or Indian, or… mmm… I’m starving. One of my favorites of these in my area is a completely unmarked building. It’s not listed, you just have to know. But their produce is amazing, with selections of other-world mushrooms, herbs, and roots of many kinds. Not to mention, they are always much more affordable than the regular grocery store.
I think cabbage is the prettiest.
Someday, I’ll have a bed full of cabbage flowers. It will be beautiful, and you’ll all have to eat so much coleslaw. Mwahahaha! That’s what we’re really doing here. I just want to feed you peace and coleslaw.
That should be on a t-shirt made by vegetarians in Kansas City. You know, because barbecue.
Ooooooooo, yes we are going to listen to Ani Difranco! Let’s start with this…
I know, I need something more musical too. This is safe, and a favorite! Enjoy. Might want to dance while sitting for this one - she’s a most adorable entertainer to watch!
