Food For Thought

I thought I'd take a break from budgeting for a bit and revisit some of the other areas in my "back to basics" challenge.  For those of you who might be new to the blog, this fall I'm challenging myself to get domestically fit so that I can a) be a better steward of my resources, and b) equip myself to better accomplish my personal and professional goals.  

I'm not sure what it is about this time of year, but I am finding myself attracted to food.  Preserving and storing and planning and preparing food, to be more specific.  I wrote a few weeks ago about my intentions to plan menus and clean out my pantry (which I'm still working on...), and maybe it was because of these chores that I starting thinking more about food.  And when I start thinking about something, I usually end up reading about it.  And here are my thoughts so far:

1.  I have gotten far, far away from the old traditions of preserving and storing food, and eating food in season.  In fact, I'm so out of touch with the practices that I have no idea what foods are in season or out of season. 

2.  For some reason, my out-of-touch-with-tradition bothers me.  I know, I know--we live in modern times with grocery stores on every corner.  Those traditions were replaced because they weren't necessary any more.  But still--would I have enough food to last if a crisis depleted my local grocery store?

3.  More than survival, I think what appeals to me about the old traditions is the intention (there's that word again...) that went into food.  It is the same mindfulness that I'm trying to practice with my finances.  The planning ahead and being prepared, etc. etc.  Mindfulness that replaces my urge to just buy and eat whatever sounds good at the time, giving no mind to price or nutrition or practicality.

Of course, though I have a lot of ideas, I don't have a lot of time.  And...realistically I will probably never pick up some of these traditions (like canning).  But I would like to premake a batch of meals for my freezer for those winter days when I feel like comfort food but don't want to cook.  And I really would like to get to the bottom (literally) of my pantry.

Share your thoughts with me about food, the fall, and the old traditions in modern times by emailing me at shillberry@comcast.net or commenting here.