kale, and other stuff.

My oldest daughter Lucy snapped this picture of me the other night. This is a basket of kale I was delivering to my neighbor who loves it. Bless her.

I am grateful to have a community garden right across the street from our house. As some of you know from previous posts, I have a few raised beds that my friend built for me, and this has been my first 
year growing vegetables.  I have an abundance of tomatoes, squash, and kale. I don't really like it, I try, I really do. I know I am supposed to- put it in a smoothie, make a kale caesar salad, braised with garlic, roasted chips...I even tried massaging it like they do at Esalen in Big Sur, (really they do),  to no avail. I just don't like it.

In our culture there are so many shifting 'shoulds' about nutrition and food- what to eat/what not to eat. I try not to let myself be swayed by the changing tides of the latest research and the media; one day it's be a vegan, the next it's eat cows that eat grass and put butter in your coffee.

Walking in to Whole Foods makes me feel like I am somehow being a healthy person (except being financially
responsible by spending so much). It smells earthy, the word organic is everywhere, and it FEELS good. 
Bill Maher does a riff on Whole Foods though, and I have to agree-there is a ton of junky food in every isle, might be 
packaged to look like it's not junk, but watch out. 

The question I keep asking is, why are we so crazy about food and nutrition in this country? I know, this is a bit redundant. We are americans, we exercise, we do, do, do, go, go, go, and we are stressed out and blast toxic gasses 
into the environment and, you get it. In other cultures, other countries, food and eating meals isn't so confusing. Individuals and families and tribes sit together, prepare and take meals together, and get on with their lives.

Hippocrates said, "Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food." Grist for the mill.
Let me know what you think.

...and, do you have a favorite kale recipe? If you do, send it to me, maybe I'll become a kale convert-
  'cause I've go a lot of it!

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