Crab Quiche with Nettles

I definitely think that harvesting one's own food creates a strong and important connection with one's food source, whether it takes the form of gardening, crabbing, gathering eggs from backyard chickens or nettles from the forest, to mention just a few activities in which I partake. We love to eat nettles in pesto or in a quiche that is made from eggs from our hens, crab we caught in the bay, and herbs from our garden. While I can't boast that my children would know what to do with a trout inside another fish if they saw it sitting in front of them in the stream, they could at least run out to their garden and know which herbs would complement the flavor of the fish, and pick a handful of wild kale while they were out there.

Understanding where our food comes from is a way of living life to its fullest, in my opinion. Essential to a life well lived. Perhaps not absolutely necessary in one sense of living (or for many, simply surviving) the rat-race, but actually, quite necessary in a way. We may be able to buy shrink wrapped meat from who knows where at the market, but at what cost? The way the animal was raised may pose health concerns to the consumer, environmental concerns to the earth we all depend on and to future generations due to the impacts of factory farming, and also the further dependence on oil to transport the food, etc...comparing that to the amazing experience of putting my canoe in the ankle deep gook in Bellingham's Mud Bay, loading it with a kid, then paddling out to drop my crab pots in the water, then paddling across the glassy, clear surface of the ocean on an epic summer day to enjoy the view of the islands, coming back an hour later to find two dinner's worth of crab in my pots...feeling thoroughly thrilled and happy to be alive and lucky enough to live in such a rich part of the world, I'd say that yes, harvesting my own food is a good thing.

The wonder of planting a seed in the soil and waiting, expectantly, for it to pop up from the earth, then to watch it grow into a food bearing treasure-plant is an incredible childhood experience. I'm not sure if my children would agree that raising our own meat chickens is advantageous, but I know for certain what the birds ate, how they were cared for, and I can confidently serve them without any fear of what else we're getting with our meat....except for the occasional missed pinfeather. Gross.

The author of The Scavenger's Guide to Haute Cuisine makes a strong argument for hunting, in my opinion. I'm not likely to want to learn to fire a gun and learn to hunt, but I think hunting for food is justifiable. I used to have moral issues with it, due to the prevalence of store bought meat. I now believe otherwise; if undertaken with care for the natural resources and the animal itself, it's a great and relatively inexpensive way to feed yourself and your family quality, natural food. I can see and respect the potential spiritual aspect of the process. I have a friend who only eats meat that he has either hunted or raised. Other than that, he is a vegetarian. I admire that. The Thanksgiving feast mentioned in the article was a bit over the top; gluttonous and unnecessary in my opinion.

Book Recommendations:

Dubin, Margaret Denise, Tolley, Sara-Larus. Seaweed, Salmon, and Manzanita Cider: A California Indian Feast. Berkeley, CA: Heyday Books, 2008. Print.

Coonse, Marian. Onions, Leeks, and Garlic: A Handbook for Gardeners. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press. 1995. Print.