The other day it occurred to me that my relationship with food is an ever changing one. The foods that delighted me as a child have lost some of their mystic in my adult years. Lollipops are nothing more than a sticky mess waiting to happen, while bags of Chips Ahoy cookies have lost their luster in the wake of homemade coconut biscotti or beignets. Looking back I realize these changes began when I moved into my first apartment and, faced with an barren kitchen and an empty stomach, began my love affair with cooking and baking. Little by little pre-packaged foods became a thing of the past, and I happily hovered in this state of from-scratch-eating until this past May, when I began working at Hazon. Since that momentous first day in Hazon’s office – not to mention our Cleanse experience – my relationship with food has changed once again. I still cook and bake, but I’ve also become a vegetarian by default – by which I mean that I still love my steaks and relish a good burger, but will only eat ethically raised/slaughtered meat, which is woefully difficult to come by in today’s commercial market. Our produce is organic now too, as is our milk, and the resulting rise in our weekly grocery bill made me marvel at how all the discounts you get with a ‘grocery store card’ are for cheap, processed food.

In a recent interview with chef and author Rick Bayless I had the opportunity to explore this developing relationship with sustainable, seasonal foods. When I wasn’t admiring his awareness of the environment, and our relationship to it through food, I was imagining the delectable dishes that must grace the tables of his restaurants as a result. He gave me much food for thought, sharing his views about farming while discussing his Frontera Farmer’s Foundation:

Farms help to create communities because they put us in touch with where our food comes from, and when we know this we realize its a natural product that is connected to weather, soil and our environment in general. We have become so disconnected from our food supply in this country that I’ve heard people say things like “Well, if we screw up the soil around here we’ll just get our food from someplace else.” And when people think food is too expensive they say things like, “Why don’t we have the people in Mexico grow it for us? Or bring it from China, I don’t care. I want all my food and I want it right now, I don’t care where it comes from.” This perspective is pretty common in the US, but I think it’s the most dangerous view someone can have. It’s incredibly narcissistic too because it doesn’t preserve anything for future generations…. But when someone is connected with the local food supply, they start to ask very different questions, to demand different things from their food and become willing to work with the natural world…

You can read the rest of Bayless’ interview here. Also, I can’t resist the temptation to mention that three copies of his cookbook “Authentic Mexican Cooking” have been donated to my cookbook raffle, proceeds from which benefit Hazon. Ahem. Not that I’m dropping any hints or anything.

What is the story of your relationship with food?

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