I LOVE food! I'm not sure that it is entirely healthy to be constantly thinking about food. If thinking about food caused weight gain, I would be morbidly obese with all my pork chops and root beer daydreams. I love all types of food: Korean (what I grew up eating), Jamaican, Indian, Afghan, Latin, and many many others. But, what I don't love is American food. Don't get me wrong, the idea of mac-and-cheese, sweet potato pie, or a juicy burger gets my stomach juices stirring, but only when they are made out of fresh ingredients. It is really hard for us to understand what we are missing until we live in a immigrant household or even travel to foreign destinations. Before I traveled to Peru, I thought OJ was okay (as long as there was no pulp). Surprise! I discovered America's version of OJ is not pure OJ despite what Tropicana says on its label. I had freshly squeezed OJ and nothing but OJ - with pulp - in Peru everyday and it was delicious! I was in love with OJ there; it wasn't too sweet and syrupy like OJ here and it was fresh, which made all the difference. (I imagine I could have experienced that here, but it was more magical in Peru :D)

    People are always saying use FRESH ingredients, Emeril, your grandma, the yuppies who live next door, vegans and vegetarians, and me! Please please believe us this time.

    Think about this: the majority of our "fresh" foods at grocery stores come from foreign countries and then travel miles to reach us...do you really think that food is still fresh? Food on average travels 1,500-2,500 miles from the farm to get to your table. I won't bore you with a horde of other reasons you should eat local, fresh foods. But if you won't do it for your community, for your environment, for the economy, at least do it for your TUMMY!

Going to market in Peru was also an experience that I wished we had back home - we do! Please take the fresh ingredient challenge and go to the local markets:
>> Sprout Richmond: Richmond's Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) group
>> 17th Street Farmers Market
>> Ellwood Thompson's - a daily, local market in Carytown
>> A real butcher! - I am so impressed at our resources
>> Good Foods Grocery - in Stony Point's Shopping Center
>> Goochland's Farmers Market
>> Byrd House Market
>> A pdf List of Virginia's Farmers Markets

Happy President's Day!
Elisabeth