Number seven is Radically Changing Your Diet and that was the first one of my personal factors that I categorized. In this world of endless diet claims it is easy to fall into a place where we think we are doing poorly at this. Man, according to some people we should be eating cardboard and chisels, you know what I mean?
Then on top of that there are always studies coming out telling us to do one thing and then the next week to do the opposite. And all that very scientific sounding. Am I making excuses?
Then there is the fact that my parents and ancestors never had that much trouble with diet. They ate what was in season and largely what they or their neighbors grew themselves. This makes the most sense to me at the moment.
Yes, perhaps we are exposed to more toxins then they were. Maybe we need to do more than they did. Perhaps, but I am not seeing that clearly. There is plenty of hype in the diet world and it is easy to get caught up in that, being afraid.
Last night My Rebecca and I had a simple dinner after the afternoon Phil’s Camino walk and tapas. Tapas was a little cheese, crackers, olives and wine.
Our dinner was half a small flatiron steak each, corn on the cob and green beans. The corn and beans we had just picked. I’m calling that dietary good for the moment.
Well, Felipe, how can this be? One minute you say your diet needs a lot of help and the next you say that it is good for the moment? Hmmm. Yes, there does seem to be a problem or at least some confusion.
We had a wonderful walk yesterday with old friends and new friends. The Camino continues to provide. We are fortunate. Summer loves, Felipe.
Hola, Amigo Felipe!
Enjoying a late summer (we used to call it “high summer”) rain shower today. We were getting pretty close to the “dry” category around here. We’ve done a substantial amount of travel here lately and have seen the full gamut of that universal topic. The family reunion in Texas showed us what “dry” can really be like, and then the long back home exhibited all the variations in between. A trip to South Dakota last week for a family member funeral also showed how far from the norm various places can be. Typically, this part of the great midwest is brown and shriveled by the end days of August. Not this year. They are as green as Iowa in the springtime, perhaps even a little into the excess moisture category.
I had wondered when the “food” number was going to roll around in your Great List. I have an observation on this topic. I use my Elder status to lean on here, as my advancing years surely have some worth besides adding to the gross domestic product via medicare payments. I equate the intense ardor that so many now have toward all things food to the decline in the association with what we would call “established religion”. I think there’s an innate need in all of us for that belief system, and as people abandon the tried and true of the past, they fill that void in with what is closest to them-food for their bodies. You have to acknowledge that the level of vigor so many associate with this topic is close to sacred zeal. Closely associated with this is the continued distance between the great majority and their connection to the land that produces this cornucopia of sustenance. For a good long while, I tried to provide some level of sanity to the insane arguments espoused by so many “experts”, but I’ve totally given up on that. They “KNOW” that they are right. For me, the meal that you and your Rebecca enjoyed, with the addition of some fresh-picked tomatoes, is as close to perfection as we’ll ever experience.
I’ve been following Magnificent Annie as she gets closer to the release of your feature length Phil’s Camino. Exciting times!!
Semper Fi,
PFJ
PFJ ~ We are in our dry phase here. The islands have what is known as a Mediterranean climate. With lots of rain most of the time except for late summer. We will have a green up in October and get back to normal. I am pumping water on the corn. We are into the early sweet corn and about ready to start the Bodacious!
Glad that you are getting something out of the list. It has been very helpful to me. And the food topic is interesting isn’t it? I think that you are pointing out something important with your observation of modern times. I feel caught in the confusion in a world where everyone seems to be headed in a different direction, a tower of babel. But I seem to settle on the garden dinner with a little meat and a little wine as the norm. And you are right about the addition of the tomato. Ours aren’t quite here in abundance yet. PFF
there also seems to be lots of oxtail soup in the winter…a Chinese-American friend of mine just posted a photo of her newly-scored bag of fresh oxtails and wrote about how in her culture it has been considered a panacea since ancient times. Clearly you are all onto that already at Raven Ranch – maybe one day you could post us a recipe – Phil’s Camino Cookbook??
C ~ Funny because I was going to work n a recipe for today’s blog. The oxtail soup is such a great wintertime meal, just the best. And it is a way to make something great out of a marginal part of the cow, soul food. Love to make soups in the winter by the big pot full so it lasts all week. Now in the summer it is all about salads. F.x