Pretty Crane

Oops, it's been a while, hasn't it? I've been busy acquiring tomato plants for the first time ever, dropping my jaw in Eco-Nutrition class (the name of my textbook is 'The End of Food', sigh), and eating delicious strawberries from Krause Berry Farms (have I mentioned they open today? if I could, I would run over there right now to pick some more yummy berries, but that will have to wait til Saturday). I am gradually trying to eat more seasonally and to be more mindful of the origins of my food. 

An interesting exercise to try is to go to your regular supermarket and figure out the origin of 5 food items, including the country and region. It's really not as easy as it seems. Packaged products are especially tricky as they will tell you the address of the company, but of course not where the "food" actually came from. And then there are bulk items, such as nuts and grains. And what about bread? Where were the wheat and other assorted grains actually grown? Then you can try finding 5 local items, grown somewhere not very far from where you live. In a supermarket, that is very tricky. Thankfully, at this time of the year it's very fun and important to go to a farm or two yourself, or to a farmer's market. There's nothing better than connecting with the origins of your food and eating from garden/farm to plate. It's also a very important political statement as you are supporting small farmers rather than transnational corporations. 

Now for the picture :) This was taken at Reiffel Bird Sanctuary, where the Sandhill Crane seems to live quite happily. I don't think I've ever seen a bird that big and graceful before. 

Last Sunday was also Car-Free day, which is not only great for the environment but it also brought out tons of community spirit and togetherness that we rarely seem to experience anymore. Hooray for community! 

I hope everyone gets to eat some lovely red berries this weekend. There are still many lettuces in season, as well as yummy nugget potatoes (try roasting them with red onion, olive oil, rosemary, coarse salt), radishes, spinach, rhubarb...and there is so much more just waiting to burst with life and flavour and earthy goodness! 

There's no better time than now to eat seasonally and locally :)