- Ali
There’s nothing better than good home cooking made with fresh, organic ingredients.
I’ve been buying as much as possible of my fresh produce and meat from organic sources for years. I know it has often been labelled as a fad and people say it doesn’t taste any different, I have to disagree. Other people say eating organic food isn’t any more nutritious, I’d disagree again there too. For me, eating organic produce is important – and not just for these two reasons.
I grew up eating fresh ingredients from my grandfather’s allotment and can recall the day he let me pull a carrot (I seem to remember it was a big as my head), and told me to take it over to the allotment tap and wash it before I took a bite. I don’t recall what it tasted like but I recall how I felt about it. It was joyous moment and turned me into a gardener right there and then! There is something so satisfying being able to grow your own food and know exactly what has been used during the process and how long it took to grow.
Unfortunately, in recent times our soils have become depleted of nutrients through over production and the introduction of artificial chemical nutrients. The land is no longer worked on a rotational basis like it used to be and left fallow for a year to recover. Neither is it sown with green manure to add nutrient back into the soil, or animals are no longer grazed on it so that their waste can fertilise it.
Don’t get me wrong… I don’t want to turn the clock back and go back to living in the 1920s when farming was less mechanised and labour intensive, but I do want my veg to taste of veg, so for me organic is the way forward and an easy choice for me to make.
We are lucky that we have a family run, organic farm on our doorstep and so buy as much as possible from them via their box scheme.
We love the diversity of vegetables that they grow and the fact that it’s all seasonal. We still eat bananas and tomatoes year round but I limit the fresh produce I buy where I can so you won’t find me buying fresh strawberries, which taste of nothing, at Christmas.
I’d rather opt for fruit that is in season and limit the recipes I make. It’s seems pointless to put time and effort into baking or cooking when you know that you just won’t be able to achieve those strong and delicious natural flavours.
If you want to eat more organic, and enjoy the fresh flavours and added nutrients then a box scheme is a perfect way to shake things up and try adapting your cooking around seasonal vegetables.
If you want some inspiration – make sure you head over to my Eat Well posts and peruse my favourite recipes!
