The average age of a farmer is 58. Meet my husband, my sexy farmer - Christopher Binns. He's not average and he's not 58. Definitely sexy, but more important, he makes food sexy. He is the BUSH to my STUSH and it works!
To live, you must eat. To live well, you must eat well. In my world that means organic, naturally grown, sustainable, fresh, seasonal, respecting the connection between food and life. To the best of his ability, Chris makes sure I have all that's possible at my fingertips. We have become such a fast food culture, such an expect everything at all times culture, that we have forgotten the relationship between nature and man. In our mechanization and affection for bigger is better, we have forgotten what food is really meant to be... DELICIOUS!!! And you don't get delicious from fast food or substandard ingredients or food that has travelled for thousands and thousands of miles. We have been conned, hoodwinked if you will.
We have sadly traded nutrition for convenience, good flavor for MSG, and certainly relishing a good meal in good company for eating in cars. Progress or regress?
While the realities of life may dictate convenience at times, we should afford ourselves the luxury of great meals as often as possible. And to be truthful, its not as hard as most may think. I have recently converted to the "LOCAVORE" camp, thanks to Barbara Kingsolver and a local friend and client, Sarah Hsia Hall who turned our watermelon radishes into pickles, affectionately dubbing them #locavore in her Instagram posting and I love it.
It has forced me to think outside the box, to become more creative with food. Drought stricken, Chris still delivers every morning a harvest of pear (avocado), limes, lemons, ackee, some passion fruit, sometimes a bunch of ripening banana and a few black cherry tomatoes that are simply delicious. "Avocado Soup???" he says, giving me that look, "are you joking?" Coming across the plate is the nonconventional, but trust me it was velvety smooth and refreshing. Although not a fan of cold soups, he totally enjoyed it and divined me genius. For the locavore, pear season is not all year, so we are eating pear in a myriad of ways until we just don't have anymore! Buy juice??? No way! We make it the old fashioned way (smile), tart and tangy lemonades and limeades. Lip-smacking delicious! Not to mention the lemon curd, passion fruit butter, lemon risotto, key lime pie (okay so they aren't key limes, but they are farm fresh) and you can't have guac without limes (wink). I recently acquired some cassava flour and breadfruit flour, locally milled, and am excited for the possibilities. So far our breadfruit focaccia has been a winner. Up next? limited only by my imagination.
Being a locavore means I support my local markets, and what I don't grow, luckily there are other farmers like us out there growing. My first question at the market, "local?" one really can't assume otherwise. Being a locavore means turning down mushrooms, granny smith apples, and those big fat strawberries from farin (for you non-Jamaicans, that's foreign). Chris recently acquired some strawberry plants that I hope will bring that delectable treat back in my life, when I can't get to the strawberry man in St. Andrew. My second question at the market, "organic?" this one is much more difficult in the land of chemical sprays and fertilizers, but we soldier on. I certainly don't want to rush to the casket, so I choose organic whenever possible. We are ever grateful for those farmers who make that choice too.
At the end of the day food is life. Food brings nutrition. It sustains you. It provides energy. It brings wellness. You can't live without it. Shouldn't it then be the best it can be?