"Discovering... the Forgotten Wealth of Nature"

"It is the thrifty who prepare today for the wants of tomorrow."

~ Aesop (circa 550 BC)

"It was the children who spied them first. Our bare ankles and sandal~ed feet scraped scraped against the cactus~like needles as we stepped gingerly over the vines sprawled across the landscape. They had buried themselves inside a mysterious, shadowy tangle of Pepper and Avocado trees like long forgotten treasure. A colossal patch of blackberries lie before us, not unlike an ethereal gift, the type of gift that night~fairies might leave to mere mortals. The dark glistening berries seemed to blink at the sun's brightness as we gently lifted the branch of an ancient Pepper tree to examine our cache'.

Our discovery of this culinary treasure (and our consumption of its fruits) was a subtle reminder of how generous nature can be. After eating our fill we converted the excess into sauces, salads and desserts.

Above: Half a flat of strawberries bought for $7 at our favorite farmstand.
They were very ripe and ready to eat or process that day...thus the great price!
~~~

There is a kind of romance to be found in raw ingredients. Just as the sculptor Michelangelo saw his masterpiece "David" inside a block of marble, I see berries and envision jams, cobblers and pies! Furthermore, I don't draw the line at mere fruits! Flour, water, yeast and sugar become crusty loaves of seductive homemade breads, and the mints verbena and lemon geraniums in our garden transform into glistening, ice~chilled glasses of tea to refresh our parched throats on a hot summer's day.






How often have we overlooked the possibilities of processing inexpensive nutritious foods in our own kitchens? As a nation absorbed with consuming overpriced, over~processed food stuffs it might be to our credit to look at the financial (as well as nutritional) value of converting our own natural [local] resources into delicious healthful meals.

After washing and hulling our $7 flat of fresh strawberries,
I lie them on a parchment lined cookie sheet and froze them solid before storing in freezer bags for future smoothies and/or jam~making.
~~~

In a world that touts as desirable that which is the fastest, the easiest or the newest we find pleasure in discovering the forgotten wealth offered to us by nature. Taking a cue from the past, we prepare seasonal foods for future consumption~~while they are in abundance~~in order to conserve time, money and quality of life.

A celebration of the seasons is one of the strands that keeps the tapestry of family and friendship intact. By sharing simple meals prepared at home we transform the ordinary into the extra ordinary.

Life is composed of the little things. It is in this accumulation of daily living that we should find our pleasures. The combination of handling unprocessed foods, as well as transfiguring them into delicious sustenance (through the wizardry of preparation) is a simple joy.

As the season of roadside produce stands and "Pick~Your~Own" fruit orchards reaches its peak, we urge you to rediscover the bounty that is easily and [often] inexpensively available to you. Take advantage of the opportunities to transform the harvests of each season into delicious foodstuffs for future fare.


With our good thoughts...


Tracey and Family x0x

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A scan of the article above, originally published in 1995 in our first newsletter.