I am tired of polemics.
And I am confused. Well, maybe not confused – distressed is more like it. How can so many people be so sure they are right (and everyone else is wrong) about food? How can so many people be considered right about food when our food system is sick and so many of our bodies are sicker?
We don’t know what is right. I don’t know what is right. And lately I have been thinking about arguments for vegetarianism and veganism and where dialectics end and progress begins.
Is it right for a vegan argue it is wrong, cruel, etc, etc to have domesticated cows (OK, they’re all domesticated) when cow (and other) milk is such an incredibly potent foodstuff? And has been for centuries?
Is meat bad in all forms if you consider that prehistoric man ate it? Possibly raw? Meat is not all bad for you and it IS progress that we’re not all out there hunting it on a regular basis. There go ANY gun laws, for starters. Would you rather have time to read a book (OK, OK, watch TV) or spend that time trapping your own dinner?
And my favorite example is this: an organic farmer keeps chickens that help eat the bugs on his farm and thereby minimizes other treatments he might need. The byproduct is, of course eggs. Do we not eat them? They are the result of a beneficial process, and one of the most complete and useful foods on the planet.
Progress means someone who is much better at it than I am can grow, produce, and otherwise supply my food. And dammit – bananas and pineapple make my smoothie a much, much better tasting drink and there’s no way anyone’s growing them around here. Or even in this country.
Progress and bending the locavore sensibility has given us chocolate and coffee and tea and guava and figs and hazelnuts and pignoli or pinon and rice, for goodness sake, and tofu and it lets someone other than me struggle with making pasta (which has eggs in it) and on those rare occasions when I do eat meat, it allows someone else to take care of the dirty work. And it gives me the right to have the wonderful indulgences of a peach tart (aha – sugar and butter, a milk product) and a moist hunk of sour cream coffee cake (eggs, sugar, milk products) and good old French toast. Did I mention Parmigiano- Reggiano? And papayas?
Our system – or lack thereof – of how we make all this work certainly has room for improvement. But you know, generally humankind has benefited from progress in food. Burger King is not what I had in mind, but in a lot of ways, a box of Swanson organic, free range chicken broth is.
A little simplistic? Yes, but I think the ideologues among us would do well to offer a little leeway and grace to those who think about this stuff, but think differently. Or like me, don’t know what the heck to think.
I have no answers – and if polemics (and this crummy cold weather) has you down too – try stew. This version is without meat, but it’s just as good with chicken or lamb.
Stew Braised with North African Spices
Olive oil
I very large onion, quartered and thinly sliced
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
3-4 large cloves garlic, minced
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
1½ teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cumin
4 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cups chicken broth (you can use veggie broth – but it’s not my favorite)
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut in 1-inch pieces
6 yellow flesh boiling potatoes, cleaned and cut in 1 inch pieces
5-10 medium carrots, peeled and cut in ½-inch rounds
4 medium turnips, peeled and cut in ½-inch pieces
½ cup orange juice
1 orange cut in eighths
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 large can chickpeas, drained
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On stovetop, heat a large oven-proof Dutch oven over high heat. When it’s hot (a few drops of water will sizzle instantly), pour in enough oil to form a thin film. When oil shimmers – it will happen quickly – add onion, celery and garlic. Turn heat to medium and cook until just softened. Add spices a sauté briefly until aromas are released. Add tomato paste and stir in until evenly distributed. Add broth, stir up all bit from bottom of pan. Add remaining vegetable, orange juice and orange pieces. Mix vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Cover tightly and place in oven. Braise 1-1½ hours, until vegetables are just soft. Stir in chick peas and cook another 10 minutes. If too soupy, remove lid and let some liquid evaporate. Adjust seasoning. Lots of servings.
*If you want this to be a soup, add more broth. If you want meat stew, brown meat/chicken in oil first. Remove meat and continue with vegetables. Add browned meat to pot before braising.