Friday, August 03, 2007

Earth food - Organic heirloom tomatoes, blue cheese and crackers, a little goes a long way

My little contribution to August Monthly Mingle - Earth Food goes in a few small ways. Energy and environment.

Since it's still summer, would like to continue my pursue on the "less stove-top cooking" project - conservation of energy, even in the kitchen. Me, alone, won't make a vast difference but if everyone is conscious about it, it will. Or use alternative green energy such as a solar stove-top.

Aren't these tomatoes so attractive and unique to look at? If they could be preserved for exhibits in the museum, I would do it (even to the seeds), before it disappears. No industrial tomato can match the unique shape, size, color, taste and texture of these precious. Definitely a no cookie-cutter in my words.

If heirloom tomatoes are tomatoes developed by natural gardening and seed saving, then I'll try using some of these in my cooking, while in season.

Take the organic approach, the right way. Not all organic food is healthy. Health benefits or not, the scientists will debate and state the facts. And political movements, and agriculture lobbying aside. Point is, there is already too much pollution (air, water, etc.) around and reducing the use of pesticides in the environment is just one way to ensure less harm done to the environment. Even marked with non-toxic logos, or approved by EPA, synthetic chemicals are still chemicals. Pesticides are mostly synthetic chemicals. Similar to going organic, going natural is by itself self-explanatory - nature should be preserved at its best. Enough of genetically-modified corn to simulate production and genetically-modified bananas that remain "fresh" longer (meaning...does not ripen so fast and turn to "leopard" bananas, if you know what I mean?), let's preserve some natural food production, natural gardening and even seed saving. Mass production is not always good - good for the producers, but seldom for the consumers. Economies of scale aside, affordable prices for the consumers aside. Am referring more to mass-replication, the loss of personality and distinctive characteristics. It happens to your food too :O

Some blue cheese, that are still hand-made in small batches, in the modern age of industrialization and mass production. This is another no "cookie-cutter" - cheese.

Well, my definition and preparation of earth food, that represent some characteristics of each above:

Organic heirloom tomatoes, and blue cheese crackertizer

Less stove-top cooking, or in this case, no stove-top cooking :D

These tomatoes say "I'm organic heirloom", with the green heirloom shouting out "go green, go green"! And the (distinctively stinky) blue cheese admitting "I'm stinky but I've got personality"

Some carrot cake, I've fried earlier. Do you like it black or white?

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