Welcome!

"I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that."
--Lloyd Dobler, Say Anything

I don't want to eat, buy, or sell anything processed. I don't want to buy or eat food from restaurants or corporations who rely on food that is processed. I don't want to support agricultural megaliths.

But I'm a realist. I live in New England, which has a short, temperamental growing season. I have a full-time office job, and a long daily commute. I've never gardened beyond sticking some herbs in the ground and keeping the Aerogarden filled up. I love to cook, but there are at least several nights each week where my boyfriend and I don't feel like shopping and chopping. A couple of times a month there is nothing for lunch and my schedule and the culinary wasteland around my office dictates a visit to a drive-thru (although I always regret it afterward).

So: there's no way I can pull a Barbara Kingsolver and live off the land for a year -- even if I wanted to.

But I think we can all get more in touch with how our food is made and processed. And even if we don't have much time to cook at home, directing our dollars towards local restaurants and purveyors who feel the same way is a fast and easy political statement to make.

My motivation to become more informed about where my food is coming from stems more from practicality than virtuousness. I think there's value in knowing HOW to do things. I don't know how to create or process anything -- and the realities of our economy and our climate tell me that perhaps it's time to make myself a more useful member of society. Being an aspirational locavore might help me eat healthier, and save a little money in the long run.

Via this blog, I intend to:

*Share what I've learned about helpful and economical kitchen shortcuts and processes
*Link to interesting food journalism and cooking tools
*Recommend easy, seasonal menus
*Talk to local (Pioneer Valley, MA) restauranteurs and purveyors
*Document my efforts at home food manufacturing and preservation
*Document my attempt to create a home kitchen garden (coming Spring '09!)

Because if I can do it, so can you.

Comments, advice, questions are always welcome.