Tuesday Mornings: Slow Food

If you know me, you know that I like to make my own stuff. Whether it's bread or tortillas; cake or cookies; yogurt, applesauce or jam; I like to make it from scratch. I prefer to know (and control) exactly which ingredients go into my food. When possible I like to start with the least processed ingredients, too...which means that I'll buy a sugar pumpkin instead of a can of pumpkin puree, or dried beans instead of canned. And the more I do it, the more I want to do it. I love the control I can have over what I'm creating (and – usually – save money in the process)!

Many of my friends think this makes me crazy. They argue that it's much less convenient to do it my way. And they may be right; but I think the benefits are worth it. Take the beans, for example. When I cook my own beans, I pay much less, I control what's in them (like salt!), and I don't have to worry that any BPA in the lining of the can has leached into my food. I have to plan ahead a bit, so that I have the time to soak and cook the beans, but I prefer to cook a large amount once and then freeze the beans in “can size” portions, so I only need to do that every other month or so.

The preference I have for making my own food from the raw ingredients can be referred to as “slow food”. The terms derives from “fast food” – as in, it's the opposite. “Slow Food” refers to both an international movement and a way of cooking that are reactions against a fast food culture. The Slow Food Movement is “an idea, a way of living, and a way of eating” (slowfoodusa.com) founded by Carlo Petrini in 1986. Cooking the “slow food” way involves “any dish or meal cooked with care and attention to detail, often according to traditional recipes and using few or no new appliances like microwaves” (Dictionary.com's 21^st Century Lexicon).

In the rest of this post I'm going sum up my research into the main ideas behind the Slow Food movement and talk a little bit about cooking the slow food way, including some tips for “beginners” (or busy moms!). If you're not interested in the movement, skip on down to “Slow Food Cooking”.

The Slow Food Movement

When I first brainstormed about writing this post, I had heard of the Slow Food Movement, but I wouldn't have been able to tell you much about it. In my mind it was some sort of extension of what I do in the kitchen – lots of people encouraging each other to cook from scratch, or something like that. Turns out there's a lot more to it.

As I mentioned above, the slow food movement was started by Carlo Petrini in 1986 as a reaction against fast food: what he saw as the disappearance of traditional foods and traditional ways of cooking. Now, it's a movement with thousands of members in over 150 countries, which “links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment.” (www.slowfoodusa.com)

“It strives to preserve traditional and regional cuisine and encourages farming of plants, seeds and livestock characteristic of the local ecosystem.” (Wikipedia)

I could go into a lot of detail about the Slow Food Movement, but I'm not going to. Instead, I'll summarize what I've learned by saying: it's about eating food in season (and only in season), and it's about eating locally (and only locally), and it's about protecting traditional foods (and food plants) in a given area. There are chapters of Slow Food all over (Sacramento has one: slowfoodsacramento.com) because it wouldn't make sense for a Slow Food Member to be part of a chapter outside his or her ecosystem.

There are significant difficulties, of course, to eating (and living) as the Slow Food Movement suggests. The most obvious, to me, is its cost. It's expensive to buy only local, organic, seasonal food – unless you happen to be in some kind of partnership with a farmer or you are a farmer – and even then, most farmers don't grow everything. Second, for most of the world, truly eating seasonally would mean that while you have a wide variety of food for about six months of the year, for the other six months you'd be consisting on canned goods (that you canned yourself, of course), potatoes, squash, and other foods that store well.

If you're interested in more information about the slow food movement, you can visit slowfoodusa.com or wikipedia.com. I also stumbled on a great article from Cooksinfo.com that clearly laid out the movement, its history, and its pros and cons: http://www.cooksinfo.com/slow-food#ixzz2LO3oRI8t

I have to say that, after my research, I don't think the Slow Food Movement is right for me. Slow cooking, however, is totally where my heart is.

Slow Food Cooking

Why would anyone want to give up the convenience of processed foods for the arduous labor of cooking from scratch? Well, for me it's about control, and quality, and (okay, I'll admit it) pride. I like to control what ingredients are in my food – I especially like to keep out preservatives and extra salt or sugar. I like to have high quality food – and I can't afford high quality processed foods that don't contain the ingredients I'm trying to avoid. And finally, I get a thrill of pride when I create something myself. (And I get proud enough to blush when someone says “no way, you make your own ____ ?!”)

But, you're a busy mom. Where are you going to find time to cook “slow”?

First of all, let me say that if you decide to go “slow food” only because someone told you should, and not because you want to, you're going to have a lot of trouble finding the time. It's got to be something you want (for whatever reasons resonate with you), or you'll keep finding excuses. With that said, it's also true that slow food takes time. Not, perhaps, as much time as you might imagine, because there are lots of shortcuts you can take, but even the shortcuts take more time and effort than processed food. You might be in a season where you don't have that kind of time – and that's OK!

Start small. Don't expect to immediately be making everything from scratch. I've been experimenting with slow food for at least five years now, maybe even ten, and there are still things I don't do from scratch (Judith loves boxed mac-n-cheese and jello jigglers, and I use cake mixes a lot!). Pick one thing that you really want to try. Once you're comfortable with that dish, choose another. Add things gradually, and don't be afraid (or ashamed) of saying “I just don't have time this week” and going back to something processed.

A few tips

Pretty much the only good thing about processed food (to my mind) is its convenience. But you can make slow food convenient too! If you're willing to put in a bunch of time up front, you can prep your own frozen dinners. You can even get together with friends and prep together or exchange freezerbagfuls of food. Here's a list of links to directions (and lots of recipes!) from different sources . If you don't see anything you like, go hunting on Google!

and, importantly, a post on tips for freezer meals!

http://www.oneshetwoshe.com/2010/10/freezer-meals-tips-for-dummies.html

The idea that you can put in a chunk of time to make a big batch and then freeze/can/dry/save most of it for later is one of the most time-saving tips I can give you for slow food. As I've said, when I cook dried beans, I'll cook a huge potful and freeze them in 1½ cup (can size) portions for later. I do the same thing when I bake a pumpkin (if I don't need all of it), or when I peel and seed a squash. If I don't need it all immediately, it goes in the freezer. Just make sure you label and date things so you don't have to solve a mystery just to find ingredients for dinner.

Finally, the online community is your friend. You can find excellent recipes and tutorials all over the place, through Google or Pinterest. Many people are experimenting and blogging about it!

Go, my friends. Experiment with slow food. There are so many different things you can try! Things I make from scratch include: baked goods (but those ought to be a given in a pastry chef!), yogurt, salad dressing, peanut butter, jam, applesauce, corn and flour tortillas, wheat bread, granola, and granola bars. I'm planning to try cream cheese, ricotta cheese, sweetened condensed milk, jello, crackers, “cream” soup mix, cake mixes, and more.

I will happily share recipes, create tutorials for, or even personally demonstrate any of those – just ask!