The bane of my existence...

Once a day I am overcome with anxiety. It strikes me first thing in the morning as I am preparing breakfast and leaving for work. What to cook for dinner?! I mean what I would like to do, is just eat out every night. There is a fabulous Japanese restaurant in town (Kani House) and I could eat their sushi rolls until the cows came home. Similarly the only time I see my husband eating vegetables is when the teppanyaki chef prepares them on the hibatchi and does his little bit of magic, the "wolcano" choo chooing across the shiny sheet of metal before it is attacked and finely diced into perfect chunks of onion to accompany baby marrows (zucchini squash), fronds of carrots, mini broccoli trees etc, to be the perfect al dente accompaniment to the tender steak, chicken and shrimp.... drool drool...

But that is where realism and our budget (which is always pushed to the limit as it is) comes in and knocks me back down to earth. There also are a couple logistical issues. Firstly I have a job, a heavy commute (2 hours plus per day), I drive my kids to school (they don't ride the bus), the baby (who is surgically attached to my leg), and my 5 year old who wants to be outdoors all of the time. Enter stage right, the daddio who absolutely hates my "plain and boring" South African style of cooking (meaning too many vegetables and not enough sauces). Plus my struggles with my weight and what I know I should be eating to control my weight, trying to teach kids healthy eating habits, the cost of organic and hormone free foods, and yep youre ready to gve up even BEFORE dinner is prepared, let alone cooked and served.

Some history on the way I was fed as a child. My first memories of food were mashed bananas that my mom used to make for my sister and I. They were a solid staple in our household. Similarly the food I feed my children most (to fill in the gaps between meals) have been bananas. Up close would be fruit yoghurt, and eggs on toast. Lunch would be a simple sandwich made on bread that got stale in 24-48 hours, pieces of roast chicken from the dinner the night before, mayonnaise made with clean oils and egg yolks. And dinner would be a smallish piece of meat with three different coloured vegetables and a greek salad. We would always have cookies or cakes in the house that my mother had made from scratch from her old Housewives League cookbook. If we had canned foods in the house it was for dog food, cat food, pilchards, baked beans (sans the bacon and sugar) and tomato puree.

Everything else was made fresh. We used to go to Rebel Farmers and choose a huge trolley full of fresh veggies, which they packed into an old box, and our car would smell like the tops of carrots and a bit of dirt in the sun on the way home. I used to HATE going to the green grocer. It was so boring. But when we got home I was able to eat giant fleshy mangoes that poured their sweet sap down my chin and arms, running down to my elbows. My mother was always slicing a giant pineapple and methodically cutting it into bite sized chunks.

The meat came from either a butcher or Woolworths depending on how busy my mother was or what she felt like. We had a home cooked meal every night thanks to her or the maid, even though my mother worked 12 hour shifts at the hospital. I had a lunch hand made and cut into triangles, very often with the crusts cut off, wrapped in wax paper and put into my lunch box every single day for the 12 years of my schooling, even though my mother was tired and often was going on 5 hours of sleep and I had piano lessons and my sister had netball on the other side of town....

I think McDonalds came to South Africa after sanctions ended post apartheid in 1995. I remember driving past the chock-a-block parking lot on Beyers Naude not quite understanding what all the fuss was about. The only take aways  chain we really had prior to McDonalds was KFC. Another type of take away you could get (without a drive through) was Nandos Peri Peri chicken http://www.nandos.com/index1.html which really didnt count as a take away because the food is SSSOOO VERY GOOD...

At lunch time, the working class either bought their lunch to work, or if you worked in an office building, there would be many little cafe's or coffee shops with salads, tramezzinis, toasted sandwiches, eggs, soup, tea, coffee etc at your finger tips. Real places with waiters who brought the food to  your table (imagine that) with doilies on the saucers under the coffee cups (a saucer is a small plate you put under a coffee cup to rest your spoon and biscotti on... lol)... and milk served in little silver metal or white porcelain jugs... real milk... that came from a cow, that has an expiration date, no palm oils, or hydrogenated dehydrated this or that or some other nonsense you can not even pronounce!

There were fat people, there were thin people, just like anywhere. The only thing I can really think is that the food we ate was so flavourful that we did not need to add all the sauces and condiments that you have here in the USA. A plain white baguette with a piece of cheddar cheese has a wonderful rich flavour. The bread crunches and flakes down your shirt when you bite into it, and  you are rewarded of the soft fluffiness. So I am not saying it was overtly 'better' but just in my rememberance and my nostalgia, everything is rose coloured glasses perfect.

In my first couple of months here in the states, I was sick often with stomach bugs. We just attributed it to a whole new plethora of germs and viruses that I had no defense against. I also had this very strange painful stomach issue that would come and go frequently. The Americans told me I had 'gas'. They had an over the counter remedy for it, simethicone, which everyone pretty much knows about and they even give it to babies to help them with 'gas'. My mother and I laugh and say "We've got gasssss" in our funniest American accents whenever we hear the word 'gas'. It is a generic term for tight furious angry pains in your intestines. I also often had nausea and vomiting. I remember I was not able to see the Lipizzaners who came to Atlanta in 05 because I was so sick. Sick from what? I think sick from the food.

People who have heart issues have to be very careful where they buy their meat from because the meat here is all preserved with a sodium solution. So you can be eating poached chicken and broccoli and keel over because the sodium content already within your food is lethal.

But what can you do? I tried to avoid it, and rage against it. I shopped at Trader Joes, bought organic, then looked at my grocery bill appalled and realised something had to change. So I started shopping at Walmart, the American way, and my bill went down, but my dissatisfaction grew...You can get your dry goods at Walmart, but then for meat you have to go to Ingles or Publix or Kroger... And even then if youre going for hormone free, antibiotic free, free range, organic meats and produce, youre paying an arm and a leg.


The meat here does not taste like the South African meat. Even a cheap piece of meat from Pick N Pay. Stick it in the frying pan with salt and pepper. Boil some baby potatoes and make a side salad. Voila, you have a fabulous tasty meal. It just does not cook the same. The meat has this grey scum that collects on the surface. It has extra moisture from the solutions that preserve it. The texture is different, often more tough, and God only knows what the animals were fed.

So I am really not on a mission to rage against the agricultural system in the USA. I can understand what they are trying to do. I understand the vastness of the spaces and territories they have to cover. I understand the cost of transport. I understand we are in a recession. But just for my family and I, I am seeking alternatives.

I do not like to garden, just dont have the time, and I dont enjoy back breaking work (might break a nail). So I have found this supplier in the Dahlonega, Cleveland, Gainesville GA area called Organics2U http://organics2u.net/food.html. Just hoping to get some moms on board with me, so they will start delivering to our area :) Got to give it a try. Has to be better than what we have going on right now.




If youre interested this is from their most recent email :

Hello from Organics2u,

We appreciate your questions about recycling; YES, we are delighted to re-use boxes, so please bring them when you pick up. To cut down on waste further, we are happy to repack your order into any re-usable bags you bring. We also offer re-usable salad/ spinach bags. These are washable and come fabric covered and reduce plastic waste from food bags.

We also welcome the return of the mason jars used for yogurt etc. These are easily sterilized and re-used.

We offer substantial discounts on cases and half cases of produce. Please let us know if you need anything in bulk.

Pick up is from 596 Gold Ridge Road, Dahlonega on Fridays between 1pm and 7pm. Delivery is available for $10 per address. We have regular drop venues in Dahlonega and Gainesville before 1pm on Fridays. Please enquire for more information. 

PRODUCE BOX ORDERS NEED TO BE IN BY TUESDAY  NIGHT, MEAT ORDERS BY THURSDAY NIGHT. If you are late we will do our very best to fill your order but there may an occasional substitution. 

$30 Organic Produce Box

Carrots with top

Celery

Garlic

Cilantro bunched

Lettuce

Baby Spinach 1/2 lb

Roma Tomato 1/2 lb

2 Avocados

2 Yellow Peaches

2 Packham Pears

2 Pluots (a cross between a plum and an apricot)

2lb Bananas

2 Pink Lady Apples

$30 Fruit/ Smoothie box

4 Yellow Peaches

4 Packham Pears

4 Pluots

4lb Bananas

2 Avocados

1/2 lb Baby Spinach

Raspberries 12oz

Organic Free Range Eggs- $4.50 per dozen

Artisan 80% Wheat, 20% White Bread $4.24 a loaf

Natural Yogurt $4 a quart

Natural Meat. All chemical, pesticide, hormone and anti-biotic free. Raised humanely and with respect.

Grass Fed Beef

Ground Beef $5/lb
Stew Meat $7/lb
Shoulder Roast$7/lb
Chuck Roast $8/lb
Cube Steak (from round) $8/lb
Sirloin Steak $8/lb
Rib Eye $12/ lb (2 per pack) PRE ORDER
NY Strip $14/lb (2 per pack) PRE ORDER
Filet $18/lb (2 per pack) PRE ORDER

London Broil $8/lb

Beef Liver $8/lb

Beef Tongue- enquire for pricing

Free-Range Natural Pork

Pork Chops, $8/lb (4 per pack)                                   

Fresh Ham Center Slices  $8/lb (Uncured)              

Fresh Ham Shank Roast  $6/lb                                 

Fresh Ham Butt Roast  $6/lb                                     

Boston Butt   $7/lb                                                      

Spareribs  $6/lb  PRE ORDER                                                        

Sausage, Mild  $6/lb                                                 

Sausage, Hot  $6/lb                                                  

Fat Back $5/lb                                                          

Leaf Lard $5/lb   

Liver $5/lb

Kidneys $5/lb                                                       

Pig's Head or Feet  $2/lb   

(Prices and availability of meats subject to change)

Thank You,

Alex

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