Well, it’s time for the Absolute Write Blogchain no. 10. and I’m picking up from Peggy’s post in the last blogchain.
Peggy talked about local food and how easy it was to take the path of least resistance by buying from a supermarket. And she reminded me of one thing I left behind in Scotland that I haven’t been able to find (yet) in Ohio.
The central belt in Scotland holds most of the towns and cities. It bridges the gap between the two major rivers, the Forth and the Clyde. The area is industrial and deprived and at many times, frightening. Even Edinburgh, which has a reputation for being filled with the genteel rich, has some of the poorest areas in the UK. We lived on the fringes of that central belt in a town called Kirkcaldy (pronounced Kir-koddy). Kirkcaldy was built around coal mines and a linoleum factory. It’s rough. But just a short drive away you emerge into the beautiful Scottish countryside. There are small-but-active fishing villages, the famous St. Andrews (along with it’s golf course), and miles and miles of fertile farm land.
It’s the farmland that made the difference. There were farmer’s markets in town every other weekend with fresh fruit and vegetables, organic reared pork, fresh fish, venison and a whole host of fantastic, home-made produce. All from local sources. And that wasn’t all. The drive on my way home from work passed two organic farms where I could stop in and pick up whatever was seasonal.
It was a good life – for food anyway.
But here, there isn’t any of that. But I don’t miss it (except the venison), because I’ve found something better. Here, I have a garden. And we’re growing our own organic fruit and veg. And let me tell you – there’s nothing a sweet as a tomato picked two minutes before, or an eggplant taken straight from the stalk and grilled on the barbeque. Or squash soup made with totally home-grown ingredients. And I’m really looking forward to the pumpkin pies from my small sugar pumpkins.
Because there is something better than buying locally, and that’s growing locally. And I wouldn’t change it for the world.
So, I know it’s not midnight, but let’s see what my friend Midnight Muse has to say about my ramblings in the next post on the chain.
Blogchain participants:
blog@cathsmith.com
My Midnight Muse
periodically.org
(The Blog Formerly Known as) Taosbound
Virtual Wordsmith
The Death Wizard Chronicles
Food History
Kappa No He
A piece in the puzzle
Sound Off Blog
Virginia Lee: I Ain’t Dead Yet!
Cath lives just outside Cleveland, Ohio (well, somebody has to), she writes, takes photographs, reads and writes obsessively. Oh, and she speaks with a funny accent.
Good God, now I’m hungry !!!
I’d love to have a fresh market to stop by every night on the way home. We have one downtown Seattle, and I always thought it’d be SO cool to live close to that. But then I realized how inherintly lazy I can be, and how much easier it is to just go home after work and not stop anywhere.
But I do, about every other summer, remember to plant some pretty fun stuff in the garden. Tomatos, zucchini, and we have fruit trees.
I just wish I could grow smoked salmon back there
The salmon in Seattle is awesome. I once visited Seattle for a week and ate salmon every day. I prefer it grilled over smoked.
And yes, it rained every day.
It’s true, the best tomato I’ve ever eaten was one of the ones grown next to our back porch in Henderson, NC. In the morning I’d go outside and pick one off the vine, wipe off the dew, and then eat it on the spot like an apple.
Only two of our four tomato plants survived that summer, but even so we were overcome with the lucious fruit. The director at our local summer theatre was thrilled, however, as he directly benefitted from our bounty.
Lovely post, Cath. It makes me homesick for Scotland and I’ve never been there.
I didn’t know you were from Scotland. I spent some time there way back in the long-ago-and-far-away. I was one of those backpacking hippies trundling around Europe.
You’re right about home-grown produce. Problem is, a decent garden takes work and some of us are too darn old and/or lazy to make it happen. Glad you’re enjoying yours.
I’m not Scottish, but I lived there for a long time. Beautiful country, but very diverse.
The town where I live is too small to have a farmer’s market. The closest we come to that is when people set up tables in front of their houses, with produce, a price list, and a box, so you can do the right thing and deposit your money.
You’re right about home-grown tomatoes, though. I’d never eaten raw tomatoes until this summer, when my aunt, who grows her own tomatoes AND makes her own ketchup, sent a box of the home-grown beauties to my house. I’ve never tasted tomatoes, cooked, raw, or pulverized, that tasted that good!
P.S. Your post made me hungry, even though I just finished dinner. Any weight-gain I suffer will be blamed squarely on you!
Given I can’t grow a thing, I’m exceptionally grateful when there’s a famers’ market near me. Although I did grow tomatoes last year. I grew seven tomatoes, to be precise.
I’ve gardened a few times. I have this one big problem though. After I plant a bunch of seeds, I can’t bring myself to thin them out. It just seems so wasteful, so mean. Also, I can’t smush the grasshoppers like my mother-in-law taught me to do. Again, they got such cute little faces.
As for Scotland. I so want to go there. One day…one day!!
My ancestors were scattered all over the UK. I can’t hear bagpipes or a bodhran without my heart skipping a beat. And as for fresh produce, is there anything in the world better than fruits and vegetables bought in season?
Down here in Dallas it isn’t too far to drive to a farmer’s market, though its far enough that we buy most of our fruit and vegetables at Kroger.
When I was a kid we used to drive to East Texas to see my grandparents and would always stop on our way to get fresh peaches. Those were the good old days.
Man, now I’m hungry. Wonderful post. You’re right, growing your own food is a lot more satisfying than buying it.