So, I just finished reading
Righteous Porkchop by Nicollette Hahn Niman. It's a really good look at the American meat (and subsequentially, food) system, and it's many flaws.
If you haven't read it, I recommend it. It's a bit dry, but once you get into it, it's pretty fascinating. I also recommend
The Omnivore's Dilemma and
In Defense of Food, both by Michael Pollan. And of course,
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.
All books, together, offer a rather revealing look at how food in this country is produced, though be wary that every book has it's bias and you should probably read more than just one to get the full picture.
I can completely say that they have profoundly changed my life.
Though I suppose I should start from the beginning.
Let's go back to January, 2007. I had gotten into a horrific car crash, thanks to my genetic ability to consume ludicrous amount of alcohol and still walk and talk like a normal human being (BAC of .29, anyone?). I was stuck at home for over 2 months, recovering, and still have lasting injuries that will stay with for me for the rest of my life. During those torturous ten weeks, I mostly slept and went to physical therapy, and the many other hours were interspersed with times of complete rage at my condition and the hell that came along with it. I worked a couple of hours a day to pay for my company subsidised heath insurance and such, but couldn't do much else (can you imagine not even being able to shower or cook/eat without assistance?). So, I read a lot.
One of the books
11frogs gave me was the AMV book mentioned above. I really got into it. Come mid-summer, I'd read the book and wanted to start going to the farmer's market 5 min away from our house. Since I'm not the type to get up any earlier than noon on weekends, I decided that going before work on Wednesdays was a good compromise. I'd get up a bit earlier in the middle of the week, but would still have my weekends.
Since then, I haven't missed a market. Even when I was on home confinement for 3 horrid months, I got up early and my husband wore his blue-tooth cell phone earpiece to the market so he could talk to me while he went to get our groceries for the week. We could get almost everything - fruit, veggies, eggs, cheese, beef, pork and chicken. We began to know everyone there.
There's the hosta/onion/brandywine lady, the tomato lady, the egg and donut guy, the goat cheese and garlic/onion guy, the beef people, Dan (who sells us our duck, pork and chicken) and Farmer John (who sells cheese).
Over the past 2+ years, we've become regulars. We're there at the first market in April, through to the the last one in November, travel schedules permitting. We know people and we talk to them, and it's such a nice way to start a day. If one of us isn't there, the other one gets asked where the spouse is. It's such a wonderful thing, to feel that connected.
Last fall, we decided to buy meat in bulk to last us the winter. We bought a chest freezer (best investment EVER!) and purchased a 1/4 cow and 1/2 a hog from the farmer's market people - and I can sincerely say that this is the best beef and pork I've ever eaten. I mean, sure, we got 30+ lbs of ground beef, so it's been an extreme exercise in restraint and creativity to find ground beef recipes that aren't boring and to not default to just eating all the yummy steak cuts that we got. But everything is still good.
And yes, with the pork, I need to remember to take the pork out 2 days before we want to eat it - one day to defrost and one day to brine it in a salt, sugar and vinegar solution - but it's AMAZING when we do cook it. Seriously. It tastes like pork!
Over the summer, we've also purchased 15 whole chickens because we did miss the poultry side of life. They are currently also residing in our chest freezer (well, 12 of them are anyways :P).
Another fun thing about this is that, with the hog, we got like 6 lbs of lard. Since I do try to encourage healthy eating, we haven't tried "pork confit" just yet. Instead, during our month off of work in November (yey the staycation sabbatical!) we're going to try making soap! Yep, let the
Fight Club jokes begin - it'll be an interesting experience.
Anyways, to anyone that is still buying meat at the supermarket - I urge you to rethink your decision. Yes, farmer's market meat is more expensive, but it's more flavorful and more nutritious, meaning you can actually reduce your portions without feeling deprived. And if you're worried about buying such large quantities and the cost, ask me. I'd be more than willing to go in on a share with you, and I promise, it's not as expensive as you think.
