Slow Food

Sometimes I forget I don't have a microwave.

Like last week, for instance. While I was at the Organic Food Depot, I bought a mixed rice/barley blend and a couple of organic burritos. Did I forget I don't have the essential small appliance with which to make them? So here I am, hungry and looking in my pantry for something to go with my roasted sweet potato from last night's dinner and I see the package for microwaveable food.

I think I'm getting ahead of myself. I've started reading increasing research about "slow food"... the fabulous counter-movement to the microwaving-drive-through culture we now find ourselves in. Slow Food USA defines it this way: "Slow Food is an idea, a way of living and a way of eating. It is a global, grassroots movement with thousands of members around the world that links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment."

I'm starting to find it everywhere, even on Etsy. Previewing through some hand crafted toys for Aoife tonight, I found a gift guide for slow food. I was remarkably impressed. I wouldn't call the selections on that gift guide anything close to the quality craftsmanship I've come to expect from Etsy, but I thought it was fantastic that they were thinking about it.

So, I found instructions on how to cook my rice on the stove... a little more oil, a little more time, a little more dishes but I blended it in with my sweet potato and it tasted better than I remember microwaving tasting. I grew up in a household where dinner was eaten as a family. All four of us, every night at the table, talking about our day, laughing and enjoying community. I want to instill in Aoife a need for quality food and that slowing down to enjoy it is worth the wait.

All good things are.