A Dinner With Extended Family

first, we head to our miniature garden/grove to gather some seasonal goods. then, we head to the local store to pick up the fresh, locally sourced produce and some other processed goods that we don't grow or make ourselves. while the local stores still sell processed goods, these organic products are a far cry from the sugar and chemical infused abominations of the past; good riddance, i say. in addition, the store has a great stock of international organic fair-trade goods and produce that aren't available in our region.

with the collapse of Monsanto and other organizations that pushed a poisonous agenda, farmers found out that organic methods and a crop rotation that includes a year of full fallow growth actually produce higher yields and higher quality food. in addition, researchers are now more free than ever to release the facts about the chemical additives that have been poisoning us for years. food just seems so much better now; compared to now, food of the past resembles chemically spiced cardboard and styrofoam.

while my own family is vegetarian, we do not object to the eating of meat because we don't feel that we have the right to interfere with cultural dishes. we still believe that vegetarianism and veganism have great benefits, but we do not have opinions on or judge those that eat meat.

in the late afternoon, we start to prepare our dishes; i wanted to have a Korean influence this week, so we are making mandu and kim-bap with a few twists in ingredients. my partner and kids all join in; in making these, it was a bit impossible to not eat a bit as we go. as a side dish, we are putting out the various types of kim-chee that we had made at the start of the year.

people start to gather on the patio in the garden, the serving table filling up with foods that look and smell wonderful. people share the cultural background of their dishes with each other; others are just having a good time chatting about any and all subjects.

while there is still much work to be done in the fight for food security, we are seeing and enjoying first hand the changes brought about by social activism.