Tag Archives: nutrition

Lughnasagh came and went… autumn equinox dawned and sped away. We had a really dry spell but this week a cold, wet front came through and everything is immediately green again as if a switch was flicked into icy cold overnight.

Our air up here is so crystal clear, sunsets are legendary and already the first frosts are making themselves felt rather early this year. Our twenty rolling acres are green again.

Now, as we hurtle towards Samhain nights are becoming longer, daylight hours shorter. At this time I always feel as though I get so much more done in these shorter days because its cooler to work outside but snug and blissfully warm in both studio, barn-house and the new greenhouse. It seems after waiting so long for the second one to be built, suddenly in moments planting began and seed trays are germinating in their little seed raising unit. What a bonus to add space and length of time to our growing season.

Our haven, our bolt hole, away from the noise of even our small local town, is frankly, bliss.

Some folk are made for city living, seeking out the dubious thrill, noise and the appearance of an abundance of choices as to how to while away the time when not working the proverbial 9-5 in TikTok time. I guess I see that more like filling in time, frankly.

Food and fashion fads prevail… influencers tell people how to look, think, speak, what to eat or not eat and how to be in the world to be seen, to be recognised. It’s a trap, because really… you don’t need anyone’s recognition if you know and accept who you are. I firmly believe my work sells because the right people find it, not because I’m putting myself out there as ‘special,’ but rather different, as we all are and uniquely so. Isn’t it more positive to be different than to believe we all have to follow the masses and be the same as… the natural progression of that would, possibly, be cloning!

Food has also in my eyes, as a one-time restaurateur, serving simple but wholesome food, become a rude and elitist business with crazy fads and prices as people seek new flavour experiences, constantly. We all need to eat but what goes on a plate as a serving size of food is often obscene and much is wasted, particularly when we know some can’t make ends meet and that one meal would be several servings for them. On the other hand, high-end restaurants serve tiny portions of foam and schaum with splashes of this and that and a sprig of green. I wonder how many people, still hungry after paying a small fortune, end up buying a takeaway to fill their near-empty belly.

It doesn’t feel as if many are truly looking at the naked truth of food… it’s to feed the body and if we have choices in flavour and selection, it’s a privilege to be so well fed. Food should be blessed and savoured but for me, simple is best, where each element of the meal is full of the true flavour of the original item. A fresh bean or tomato, picked still warm from the sun makes me wonder, other than the obvious need to keep food fresh, why cold food has to be freezing, robbing it of flavour and vitamins? (That said, food miles are another huge issue in keeping foods fresh and vitamin rich, but that’s another story.)

Then there are those who avoid the plastic glamour of it all to grow the city-folk food that then becomes no longer ‘in’ enough anymore. Farmers multitask their crops and growing seasons to suit the latest fashions of food-faddery, and it’s hard enough growing large crops as it is. First Kale, then Chia, Wheatgrass, Blueberries, Cranberries, rare fruits and mushrooms etc., became the thing to keep one young and vibrant… dubbed superfoods, too much of any one of them can be toxic to many.

What happened to less is more? Potatoes, and dairy are spurned… only to find that kale has more tannic acid than rhubarb… calories and proteins are needed to build muscle, unadulterated dairy for strong weight bearing bones and a moderate balance of all food groups is the key. Skinny does not necessarily equal healthy, either.

In my experience, veganism can often equal elitism… would we be so fussy if there were only potatoes, meat and dairy available because crops of the “in-foods” had failed? Something, even a tiny, humble bug, is killed or displaced when we harvest plants and would that fat rabbit, feral pig or deer, be ignored if hunger knocked at the door? It strikes me as worth thinking about, what a human would eat to prevent starvation.

After a good table grape harvest this year, the surplus is dried for raisins… a wonderful supplement for snacks, on a cheese platter or reconstituted in curry sauces. So much food goes to waste and it’s preventable… don’t throw your surplus or leftovers away… dry, freeze, preserve, every little bit. A full pantry is a joy to have and no food waste is the result.

Hens supply our unfertilised eggs, (no rooster) they eat our kitchen scraps and get to clean out the greenhouses at the end of a season… they provide manured mulch for us to add to our grow beds to grow yet more food each year… a natural cycle.

Our hens are loved as part of our tribe and they have a huge expanse of orchard garden to find natural proteins and greens, and also clean up windfall fruit and any bugs that damage them, supplemented by a complete layer mix of seed and dry grasses in winter. We protect them by only letting them free range when we’re outside with them and lock them away from predators at night. They are a huge part of the garden workings and their eggs are sublime. We don’t eat our hens but as stated before, if anyone is starving, well?

Self-sufficiency is not about squirrelling food away for times of lack, but there’s an immense satisfaction in a simple way of being that focuses on seed to shoot, to bud, leaf and fruit that is grown in abundance to share around a table with friends and family. Contrary to those who would rather buy from the supermarket because everything’s there in one place, the taste is beyond any store bought foods… and vitamin rich, as we’re sticklers for keeping our soil healthy too.

What would happen

if we all wanted less

less mess, less stuff

less electricity

less commuting

driving, travelling

What if

we stayed put

for a while…

grew our own food

as much as

the local climate allowed…

traded what we couldn’t grow

recycled, repurposed

redesigned stuff

that otherwise

goes to landfill

What if

puffed up lips

fingernails like talons

and “perfect”

designer figures

were no longer

a must have

to suit

someone else’s ideal

What if

muscle and lean flesh

came naturally

from working in nature daily

What if

hopping on planes

to sit in the sun

elsewhere

was replaced by

sitting in the sun

talking with

a lonely neighbour

locally

What if

instead of complaining

that “they”

should do something

about the carbon footprint

whilst driving to the shops

to buy that new

influencer-touted item

that will change your life

made in sweatshops

on the other side

of the globe

What if

YOU

were to do

all you can

…and then, within it all we’re surrounded by the creatures who inhabit the land and we do all we can to keep that happening as a natural progression. We live with and interact with them… they have huge tracts of forest and wetlands around but they choose to be here in close proximity to us.

I refuse to prescribe to humans as a a virus or an oversight in nature… it’s a strange way of seeing ourselves as superfluous to the equation. Yes, we have done extensive damage to many lives, many creatures, with our selfish view of development at all cost and are paying the price with climate change and the extinction of millions of species, as we delude ourselves into thinking that we are more important than any other life form. In so doing, we have upset the natural balance of a planetary, multilevel ecosystem and are paying the price for greed.

We work with nature and the creatures around us and I’m happy to see a growing movement of people aspiring to return to a simple way of living in balance with, rather than in domination of nature. We preserve life here but also protect our gardens and the food we grow because we have an equal right to live and eat. This way every living thing is fed and nurtured…

Listen

to the sounds

between the notes

howling stark

through rising dark

and whispers soft

…born from stillness

spun aloft

on fierce winds

that bring

the song

of life and death

carried on every breath

through eons

…across time and space

in a wild

cosmic movement

leaving nothing

in place

only the illusion

of separation

hidden

in the music

between the notes

…listen

Walk softly… be aware of all of life as equal… Awen /|\

Penny