Building a Junior Gourmand

As a father of four children feeding them good food is a high priority.  Convincing them that the food is actually good for to eat is another thing entirely.  Imagine my surprise when, after my wife started painting the kitchen and we realized that paint and cooking do not mix, that I tried to pawn off ‘take-out’ food on my kids.  We considered all the options, to which my 7-year old mourned having to eat anything but homemade, and finally settled on french toast made with eggs from our backyard and homemade bread.

I smiled at this little episode, as it isn’t the first time something like this has happened.  My wife leaned over and accused, in mock jest, “We’ve created a monster!”  “Not a monster,” I replied, “a gourmand!”  And so it is that my 7-year old, the one that I would have least expected to convert from all things junk food to a culinary diva, has become the driving force for good food in our home.

That is really the key, isn’t it?  If we can convert the kids to good food they are going to demand it from their parents.  No more frozen pizzas or crappy industrial take-out, they are going to ask, plead, even beg from homemade, fresh, and, above all, real food.  That is why movements from Slow Foods USA, Time for Lunch, FarmtoSchool, or, for my fellow Canadians, Real Food for Real Kids are so important.  With all the time and effort we invest in trying to teach our children how to be good, perhaps we should consider feeding them good and see what changes that brings.

Sewing the Seeds

Last weekend my family and I attending the annual conference of ACORN, the Atlantic Canada Organic Regional Network, which was held at the Rodd Charlottetown.  We weren’t there as delegates or members, just as curious gardeners attracted by the chance to rub shoulders with other heirloom gardeners and seed-savers in Atlantic Canada.

We’ve had a garden, in varying degrees, for the past 3 years now.  The first year was just a couple of tomato plants, the last two years was a jump to 900 sq ft garden.  The first two years we used heirloom seeds from Agrestal (unfortunately no longer in business) and last year tried conventional seeds from Vessey’s.  Now granted last year was a terrible year for growing, not to mention we are novice gardeners by any stretch, but this year we are going back to heirloom seeds, both for the diversity of the product, but also because we can buy seeds that were produced locally, not just marketed locally.

Urban Farming

While the concept of urban farming may seem like an oxymoron, the idea of cities growing food and raising meat is quickly becoming a trendy pastime for many an urban-dweller.  When USA Today published an article this week about mini goats it was quickly a topic of hot debate in our house.  It’s not that we’re opposed to someone having goats in the city, far from it as our own chicken experience demonstrates, it was  more about what it would take to convince cities that having traditional farm animals in the city is not a bad way to live.
Within the lifetime of many Islanders, farm animals were kept within city limits.  In fact, many homes in within walking distance of downtown still have horse sheds in their backyards.  They don’t house horses anymore, but could if they had continually housed a horse since the ‘non-farm animals’ by-law was passed decades ago.  Basically, if you had a horse, and kept a horse continually, your horse would be grand-fathered in as a legal possession.

The Reverence of Food

Since moving to PEI nearly 2 years ago now my family and I have come to appreciate food.  Perhaps it is being close to where much of our food is produced, though that some luxury was available back in Ontario.  Perhaps it is actually knowing a few farmers, having broken bread with them, socialized with them, worshiped with them.  Perhaps it is the realization that our new home is an island and, as such, can be cut off from the world around us — food and all — limiting our choices, even the very availability of our food, with a few short days of high winds, or treacherous weather.  Whatever the reason, we have come to have a reverence for food that is only superseded by our reverence for deity.

In Support of Local

Charlottetown PEI, my new hometown, is fielding a request to build a new big box development.  I am a long-time opponent of big box stores, especially in an economy like PEI where we depend on the diversity and unique nature of our retailers to support the overall look and feel of our tourism traffic.

Below is what I sent to our city planning department and city council.

By Way of Introduction

I do commentary.  That is the grand summary of my blogging career.  Not that I want you to think I am some sort of prolific writer of influence, but instead one who comments on others blogs.  It’s not that I don’t have much to so, quite the contrary.  Instead, I found myself drawn to others blogs who both educated and entertained.  I have written, regularly written, for a couple of blogs over the years.  I wrote for the good folks over at ScaleDown.ca, a blog dealing with urban issues in Windsor, Ontario.  I am (technically speaking) currently writing for a the blog SpacingAtlantic.ca, also an urban issues blog, though I have been remiss about writing there recently.

The reality is that nobody else, no other blog, has provided me without enough of an outlet for my ideas, thoughts and, yes, sometimes rants, to satiate my desire to express myself.  My wife reminds me that sometimes I talk just for the sake of talking.  She is probably right.  Fair warning — some of my writing will be just for the sake of writing and will serve no other purpose in the greater sphere of humanity and things.  However, I hope to contribute, positively speaking, to the greater understanding of myself and humanity.

Consider this first post also fair warning that, although I tend to write about family, food and freedoms, I do not restrict myself to only those subjects.  I may venture into politics, religion, science, education, — any topic that strikes my fancy.  My views are mine own, and are subject to change on a whim.  Feel free to challenge them, but please have the courtesy to reference scholarly, intelligent, or otherwise thoughtful ideas.  If you want to blindly rant and rave, I am sure you can find some other place to do it.
I hope you enjoy the journey, it’s likely to be a wild one!