Green Guilt

What determines the line between teaching and preaching? I have tread that ground lightly for fear of coming off self-righteous and environmentally dogmatic. We can't presuppose that everyone shares our lifestyles and ideals (although they should, heehee.) And that statement right there is the problem, how do we get across to people? By letting them find their own way or waving it in their faces? If we take the latter route, we must stand guilt-less in our struggles. But today I bought a plastic bottle of milk. I went to the store, needed milk, and planned on buying my usual pint of Ronnybrook milk in the glass jar. BUT they only had the single serving in the plastic bottle. So...I made a decision and bought it and immediately (and still) feel guilty. I also enjoy taking hot baths, a total waste of water. I justify this by telling myself the amount of water I use in that one bath is counterbalanced by my otherwise minimal shower usage. I can't sleep without a fan on at night, but a well slept activist is better suited to taking on the cause, no? No matter how hard I try, I will always have something out of tune with my sustainable ideals, there is always a trade-off. We can tire ourselves out thinking about everything we've done wrong and soon it all seems too difficult, as we throw our hands up in despair and return to a life of apathy. Therefore, guilt has to be one of the most useless feelings. It dwells and stews in the past without allowing for change in the future. From now on, if I feel guilty about my actions, I'll do my best not to repeat it. Here is a promise to make yourself: if you're embarrassed about doing something, stop doing it. Starting tonight, I'm re-training myself to fall asleep without the hum of the fan. I may be grumpy for a while, but I'll still feel better in the morning.

Locally sourced food

In the past month I have up'ed the ante on my locavore diet. Being wintertime in New York City, I am very tired of potatoes, apples, and cabbage. I must say though, Garden of Eve in Long Island produced the best butternut squash I've had all season and I will miss my winter squash come summer for sure. I roasted the squash with some GORGEOUS beets from the McCarren Park Saturday market, served with grits, free range over-easy egg and mustard greens (also from Garden of Eve.)

Last week, my eyes swelled up with tears when I saw (and quickly consumed) a hydroponic tomato from the Union Square Greenmarket. I ate it with a slice of Edamer cheese on a spelt roll from the fabulous Hawthorne Valley Farm. Eating locally never tasted so good. On Friday, I went to Ronnybrook Milk Bar in the Chelsea Market for the first time. For those of you who don't know Ronnybrook, they are a dairy farm in New York State that has sort of blown up in the inner local foodie circles. They are at several greenmarkets throughout the city, I'm a frequent buyer of their milk, yogurt, and occasional rice pudding. Anyway, I found out they have a milk bar/restaurant near my work and decided to check it out for lunch. I had a delicious rubbed pork sandwich with watercress on so soft and nutty 7-Grain bread (possibly from Amy's across the way?) The pork was from a farm in the Berkshires, not sure about the avocado aioli's sourcing but a girl needs a break!

Downs: I feel guilty about the kalamata olives, raisins, and almond butter I can't seem to give up and local protein, besides some fish, seems impossible unless I start growing my own soybeans for fermenting. And I was forced to buy "Maple Buckwheat Flakes" for my morning cereal from Arrowhead Mills when all I really wanted was the organic version of honey comb. Oh well, we can only do what we can do, no? Oh, and covered in Ronnybrook yogurt, the Buckwheat flakes aren't half bad.


"Everything about food and cooking is a metaphor for sex."-- http://100milediet.org/why-eat-local/