Talkin' 'bout a (whole food) revolution

I recently read two books by journalist/food guru Michael Pollan: The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food. Dilemma reads as a pretty scathing indictment of the industrial food industry in the U.S., while In Defense of Food discusses what it might look like for an individual or family to more or less opt out of eating diets high in processed food and low in whole foods--like vegetables, grains, meats, etc.

We have long tried our best to eat healthful foods, to buy locally when feasible, and to "shop the periphery" of the grocery stores where most of the whole foods are kept. So most of what Pollan discussed really resonated with me.

But one thing we have consciously tried to do since I finished In Defense of Food is to make our meals more of a celebration. When we take the time to carefully prepare, serve, and eat our food, we tend to appreciate and value our food more. So what does this look like for us? Lately, it's primarily meant that we 1)prepare complete meals without using processed foods; 2)have stopped serving the food to ourselves in the dishes we cooked the food in. Yes, friends: no pots and pans on the table. This has made for more dishes after dinner, but when we started treating ourselves the same way we treat our company, I really think we started to value our food more--and our meals are much more relaxed.

So that's the start of our whole food revolution. Huzzah!

Thoughts on my recent reads

Since I spent a week and a half in our new house with basically only Clara to entertain me, I ended up getting a lot of reading done. When your daughter goes to sleep at 6:30 and takes at least one long nap during the day, that opens up quite a bit of time to read. The books I ended up reading were kind of an odd assortment, basically pulled at random (and under duress) from the shelves at the library (Clara is not interested in me browsing the shelves for any length of time).

I will say that I was entertained by each of the books, although I liked some better than others. Here are a few short lines about the most recent of my reads, just in case you're interested:

Joan Didion's A Year of Magical Thinking: All that really needs to be said here is that Didion is consistently one of the most engaging, beautiful writers I've ever read. So yes, I would wholeheartedly recommend this book, which is an exploration of her grief following the unexpected death of her husband.

John Grisham's The Appeal: I don't know how old this book is (I'm sure I'm behind the Grisham curve here), but, as you might expect, it's quite a yarn. Very compelling, very quick to read. Classic Grisham.

Melody Carlson's A Mile in My Flip-Flops: Kind of a silly chick-lit book with a predictable but satisfying conclusion. Amusing to read, and it's another quickie, so even if it's not the best thing you've ever read (it won't be) at least it didn't steal too much of your life.

Elizabeth Aston's Mr. Darcy's Daughters: I don't know who in their right mind sits down to write a "sequel" to one of the best-regarded novels in English literature. Aston's novel is more of a success as it is than as a connection to Pride and Prejudice, but even then it seems to be more of a 21st-century novel where everyone dresses in period costuming. Oh well. It was mildly diverting.

Kate Jacobs' The Friday Night Knitting Club: Maybe I'm the only person who hadn't heard of this book, but I think I can see why it's so popular. While I was a bit disappointed in some of the language (it's true), I found myself very absorbed by the book, and I actually shed tears at the end. This is something, since I haven't cried while reading a book since finishing Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath in 2005. Granted, I wept for an afternoon with Steinbeck, but I really was touched by Knitting Club.