Food

Last year both our garden and home-grown meat endeavors were far from what anyone would call successful. Between the late blight, the wonky weather, and a four-day trip to a blogging conference during which the very loose grip I had on weeding was lost entirely, spinach and peppers were the only produce we managed to harvest in any significant quantities. Add that to a late spring flood and the incredibly persistent raccoon predation that all but wiped out our poultry flock and suffice it to say 2009 was a giant failure here. We have been, I am more than a little embarrassed to admit, depending quite heavily on supermarket fare to fill-in the gaps that we were unsuccessful in filling during the growing months ourselves.

It has been a humbling experience; having to very reluctantly fill a shopping cart with goods I know will never really satisfy the cravings for the hearty homemade meals I need this time of year; having to stare our own failure in the face week after week, month after month. It has been more frustrating than words can express; having to hand over much of our hard earned money for products I consider, in many cases, to be incredibly inferior to those I tried and failed at stocking away myself — for much more labor, but much less money I might add.

And yet, it has also been an invaluable exercise in extending our food comfort zones and, of course, a crash course in being more creative. Did you know, for instance, there are approximately eleven hundred and seventy three meals based entirely on the green beans you managed to procure and freeze in copious amounts from a fellow gardener more successful than yourself? Me either. Or that spinach can be added to almost any recipe to extend the store bought ingredients and that, perhaps more importantly, you can feed your children said spinach three times per day, every single day, for weeks and so long as you don’t point it out they won’t complain — or turn green? I know, I too was shocked.

Tell me, in lean years how have you become more creative? How did it change your buying and growing habits for the following year? Already we’ve invested in raised garden beds, heavily composted and have decided not to accept pre-orders from our clients for poultry; not to sell the eggs before they’re in the basket, so to speak, in order to ensure we can provide for ourselves first.

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Of course the Pop’s Grass Fed Ground Beef (top), small-farm grown Gourmet Dried Mushrooms (middle), and Rick’s Picks Mean Beans — and other spicy pickled produce — (bottom) all of which I’ve been coveting certainly wouldn’t hurt the mealtime variety. Of that I’m sure.

Diana Prichard

Diana Prichard is a homegrown and artisan food junkie, freelance writer and wanna-be homesteader living in rural Michigan. You can find more on her work and life at dianaprichard.com, follow her on Twitter or friend her on Facebook.

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I owe my discovery of the online artisan food marketplace, Foodzie, to Try Handmade founder, Erika Jurney. It has been a few months since I received her email with the link and I must confess I haven’t cleaned my house since. I wholeheartedly believe that, by extension, Erika is solely responsible for the state of my home. Need a clean pair of socks? Take it up with Erika. To find the floor to walk on? Take it up with Erika. A bowl to eat your cereal out of? I said take it up with Erika! I’m busy on Foodzie!

You know those shops that you occasionally run across that give you an insatiable urge to set up a cot and stay — forever — right there between the antique mason jars and the knobbly hand-knit scarves? Foodzie is one of those shops, or rather a collection of hundreds of those shops. Only it’s online. Which means I can stay forever. And I don’t have to sleep on a cot. I just have to convince my husband that yes, in fact, the laptop does add a new dimension of romance to the bedroom; yes, I should bring it with me.

With names like White Girl Salsa (whose gorgeous mild salsa is pictured above), Laura’s Wholesome Junk Food, Alchemy Spice Company and Mother In Law’s Kimchi (whose Seoul EXPRESS Gift Pack is pictured below) the shops aren’t just pull-up-a-chair-and-stay-a-while browsing grounds, they’re fun too.

And it’s the spirit they’re run in that makes Foodzie what it is, an online marketplace that:

…helps passionate small food producers and farmers across the U.S. reach new customers and connect directly to foodies searching for wonderful foods and gifts.

Next time you’re looking for good food from bacon to flour to complex handmade jams check out the Foodzie Artisan Producers near and far — no really, they sell bacon. Online. Check it out! Maybe you’ll find something meaningful to purchase.

Diana Prichard

Diana Prichard is a homegrown and artisan food junkie, freelance writer and wanna-be homesteader living in rural Michigan. You can find more on her work and life at dianaprichard.com, follow her on Twitter or friend her on Facebook.

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I read something recently at zenhabits that has stuck with me. I’m more than a bit ashamed to admit, lately, much of my online reading has come to an abrupt halt. I suppose this is why coming across a gem like this — so simple and yet so true — meant all the more to me. It was discovered in one of those rare moments where I was just being with me; myself. It was written, not about food, but about wanting very little in life. Yet it applies so beautifully to the journey we often travel in finding artisan food that I had to share.

Don’t be meaninglessly minimalist. Be purposeful and deliberate in your quest…

In the weeks leading up to The New Year holiday I thought extensively about where I wanted to go with this column; what I wanted to accomplish in 2010. All I was able to come up with was to ‘Have Direction’, but struggled as to what that really meant. I knew that in 2009, in its very infancy, I had felt pulled this way and that; I had wondered if anything good was actually being done with the words I was writing here. I struggled in December to know how to fix that until I was confronted with the direction of meaning.

In seeking an artisan or handmade existence, especially in the food industry, being meaningful is a complex and oft times misdirected effort in an of itself. There are so many camps of foodies out there. Local, organic, artisan, simple, slow, complex and fanciful — knowing which is right, which is meaningful for your individual situation is never clear cut or easy.

In 2010 I hope not just to ‘have direction’ but to be meaningful and to promote the importance of meaningful decisions in the food industry. That means uniting for the cause. Whether local or organic, simple or complex it means understanding and accepting that meaningful food choices come in many colors; under many schools of thought.

Here’s to meaningful food in the New Year — for one, for all!

Diana Prichard

Diana Prichard is a homegrown and artisan food junkie, freelance writer and wanna-be homesteader living in rural Michigan. You can find more on her work and life at dianaprichard.com, follow her on Twitter or friend her on Facebook.

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