Good Food

[rebeccmeister]

Yesterday, the New York Times had an article written by a vegetarian who moved to the midwest and promptly discovered how difficult it still is to find vegetarian fare in midwestern restaurants. I don't entirely like the article, as a part of me just thinks, "Well, what did you expect?" But at the same time, I can relate. I don't really expect to find many vegetarian food options out here in the Republic of Texas. I just think back to my early days as a vegetarian, when it was just as difficult to find vegetarian fare in a lot of places along the east and west coasts. I've watched things change quite a bit over the past 15 years, to the point where there are actually *options* at many restaurants, and places that specifically cater to vegetarians have sprung up all over the place.

Here in Texas, not so much. I'm usually satisfied if I can convince people to make a grilled cheese sandwich for me, though if it's made with American cheese and white bread, bleah. That seems to be the predominant form of "cheese" around here. Food availability here just isn't what it was in Arizona - for the most part, one can get stuff, but it won't be that flavorful or interesting or delicious. Consider that people here talk a lot about BlueBell ice cream, as if it's something great. You know what? It isn't. The best food I've had here has been stuff I've prepared for myself.

Today, it looks like there's an article in the Arizona Republic on the increasing demand for local food produced in that area. The food scene in AZ wasn't the same as in Seattle (which some might say is a little over the top), but there's a lot to celebrate in the local food there - the peppers, the olive oil, the local peaches, apricots, citrus, and figs. It was also amazing to watch that demand spring up while I lived there. I'm pretty sure the Phoenix Farmer's market more than doubled in size, from the time I started visiting it to when I left. One could argue that some of these items aren't exactly affordable, but at the same time if a person was willing to do some legwork it was possible to get a lot of good stuff for cheap or free.

Overall, I'm at a point where I'm pretty much fine with preparing my own food here. I can at least get Organic Valley milk and cream, though it's hard to find local AND organic produce. Cheese is the only really hard part. While I *can* get my preferred variety of everyday eating cheese (Tillamook cheddar), I can't find much else that's all that interesting. The other day someone was telling me a French person's description of the difference between cheese in the U.S. and cheese in France - cheese in France is alive. Most cheese in the U.S. is dead when it's sold, wrapped up in plastic. That's a pretty good summary of almost everything I've seen in Texas. There were some exceptions in Arizona, and many exceptions in the Seattle area. I can only hope the trends continue to spread.

Comments

[sytharin.livejournal.com]

Here on the farm, we do a lot of experimental and scratch cooking as a matter of course. Recently, we received a couple gallons of raw cow's milk and put it through its paces (making yogurt, butter, sour cream, buttermilk, ricotta, paneer and ice cream); every couple of days someone takes it into her head to make new loaves of bread; and there's always plenty of greens from the gardens. It's winter, though, so fruit is scarce, which has made your fig jam a precious commodity. Mostly it's a yogurt addition, and quite delicious. We should finish it off within the week, unless I miss my guess.

I miss you. I'm always glad you keep writing about your day-to-day adventures for us; you provide me with a sense of balance at times. Hope you find secret sources of local food treasure in Texas.