Goodbye 2009
Join me in a glass of eggnog (spiked, of course), as I say goodbye to 2009. Everywhere I’ve turned over the past week, I’ve heard food “experts” review the food trends of the past decade accompanied by predictions for the upcoming one. So as a food “consumer”, rather than expert, I’ll share my thoughts on the subject, as well.
The scientific community has certainly had its share of food and diet recommendations over the past 10 years. We’ve moved from low fat diets, to low carb diets, to what I consider a much more sensible place, the search for satiety diet. Eggs have gone from being evil to becoming a healthy part of a balanced diet. There’s still more than enough advice on vitamins, minerals, and other dietary enhancements to keep the GNC’s of the world in business for the foreseeable future. But enough on the confusing health approach to food.
Our palates continue to roam the world looking for the next good thing to eat. But as far as we’ve traveled in our explorations, we find ourselves looking for food closer to home than we have in a while. Organic as a food priority has had to make room at the table for locally sourced food. Suddenly, we’re all becoming locavores, looking for something good to eat in our own backyards. And as we find fresh ingredients at our farm markets, CSA’s, Whole Foods supermarkets, and home gardens, chefs realize that this food can stand on its own without being smothered in heavy, deafening sauces. Perhaps that accounts for the ongoing popularity of sushi. If you have good, fresh food, it needs little adornment.
It appears that among educated consumers, there is an awareness of the benefits of avoiding overly processed, hydrogenated, and sugared food in the supermarket. Manufacturers have responded by decreasing these undesirable ingredients, and raising the hype of marketing this update. There are some constants that will never change, despite the turn of the decade.
On the home front, consumers have begun to cook more for themselves, out of economic necessity more than anything else. But the definition of cooking has moved from scratch cooking to assembly cooking. Open a package of this, add a bag of that, stir in a jar of this, and presto, dinner is on the table. Ironically, cooking programs have become a significant piece of television programming. What we don’t have the energy to do for ourselves, we can at least watch others do for us.
What do I see coming up in the next decade? I expect that more cynicism than in the past will accompany medical recommendations for a healthy diet. I believe that as a country we will realize that there is no easy answer to a healthful diet. It takes awareness and work to be healthy. And that takes time and energy, two things that we have in short supply. There is no one miracle food, just a lot of possibilities.
I would be remiss in not mentioning the democratization of our foodie culture. Bloggers and recipe sharing sites have made any man or woman a food expert. Following on the heels of that trend, I predict a return to more down home cuisine, comfort food and casseroles. The kind of cooking that time strapped parents rely upon. We can’t afford to source fancy gourmet ingredients, and not many of us have time to experiment with them while trying to feed our busy families. Professional chefs will take notice and give us more elegant versions of the food we cook at home, rather than the reverse process which has been the order of business for the past decade.
And me, I’m still looking for something good to eat. I’m looking for food that is healthy to serve to my family as well as food that tastes good. Whether I buy it, cook it, or have someone serve it to me, I believe the possibilities are as bountiful as the day I started this journey.
Happy New Year!
Photo of the Week – 12/30/09 – My Next Five Pounds
Fruit aside, these are the desserts I contributed to my parents’ Christmas dinner. In the back you see pizzelles which I made for my friend Joanne; followed by Italian ricotta cheesecake – our family’s favorite, once made by my grandmother, then by my aunt – now by me as tribute and remembrance of them both on the holiday; almond crescent cookies, a recipe given to me by my mom, and made as my contribution to my group’s cookie exchange; thumbprint cookies – Ina Garten’s recipe that I made as gifts for teachers. Yep, I’m probably showing a few pounds more this week, but there are more than a few pounds of holiday memories in these sweets.
The Gift that Gives Back
On a whim I gave Louisa a new kid’s cookbook for Christmas. She hadn’t requested one, but I thought she might enjoy one nevertheless. I did some research and found a cookbook that was published in 2004. It’s not written by one of the current celebrity chefs. Instead, it’s a “Better Homes and Gardens” cookbook for kids, that received great reviews, particularly for having recipes that a kid her age could manage independently.
I’m happy to report she has taken to it better than I expected. Yesterday morning she prepared blueberry pancakes from the recipe in the book. Today I went food shopping with a list that included ingredients for another 5 or so recipes from it. At lunch she prepared the BLT salad you see in the photo above.
For dinner tonight she prepared the Hula Stir Fry. Some of these recipes include short-cut ingredients such as frozen vegetables, crackers, or canned fruit. But the fact that she can follow a recipe from beginning to end with very little input from me builds her confidence as a cook. The recipes have been good, family friendly food. And, better yet, I didn’t have to cook them. And that’s always a good thing.