Feed Me! (Fresh, Healthy Food!)

So a few years back I read the book Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. It really struck a chord with me, and I decided to try and take more responsibility for the food that I feed my family.


Living in Brooklyn at the time, this was not an easy thing to do. We considered joining a CSA, but most of the folks we knew who did so were overrun with esoteric veggies they had no idea how to cook (kohlrabi, anyone?). While not a bad thing, per se, with an infant around it did not seem like a good idea for us. I also had friends who were raising laying hens in the backyard of their brownstone in Park Slope, but Mrs. Packman nixed that idea pretty quick - she liked having what little backyard she had free of chicken poop.


Now that we have moved out of the city, however, my options have grown. First things first, I now have room to try my hand at some gardening. I have learned that there is much more to it than just putting some plants in the ground and picking veggies!


I found some plans online to build a "salad table" for growing salad greens. It turned out pretty well:



From left to right there is spinach, romaine lettuce, and red cabbage. This was fun, but it provided us with salad for all of one week. Obviously I'll have to do better next time around. I also planted tomatoes, which I've had great luck with in the past in pots, but we've had no sun this year and lots of rain, so while the plants are growing well, not so much fruit.


As for protein, since I live on the water, fish seemed like the obvious answer. I loved fishing as a kid, and I've discovered that I still love it, though I have a great deal to learn!



That's a fluke, which is what they call summer flounder here on Long Island. Sadly, it's not a keeper. They have to be 21.5 inches long to keep(!) so this guy got thrown back. I was pretty happy to have caught anything, however. My goal for the summer is to pull at least one keeper striped bass out of the local waters. I may have missed my chance last weekend when I saw birds dive bombing the shore, but I didn't have my gear with me. Two guys each got a fish within a few minutes of starting to cast!


I also cooked up a pheasant last weekend that was shot by a colleague of mine. All I can say is, WOW. It was described by a friend who is somewhat of a gourmand as an "uber chicken." I just called it good eating. I'm going to have to give this hunting thing some serious consideration this fall. Being able to eat venison, ducks, pheasants, and goose all year that I shot myself seems like a very cool idea.


I'm open to any ideas for taking more responsibility for my food that any of you may have. Please take a moment to share!