Forward - A cookbook first draft

Northern palates and diets are more diverse than ever. Globalized trade and technological advances have spoiled us for choice, but there are downsides as well.

Ponder these facts:

• The agricultural industry has sacrificed flavour and nutritional quality for convenience and longer shelf life
• We have become reliant on value-added and highly processed grocery or restaurant items for most of our diet
• Pesticides and herbicides are difficult or impossible to wash away and the radiation treatment large stores use to slow produce spoilage kills important digestive enzymes and other beneficial pro-biotic life
• If there were a transport disruption (especially during the winter), we could easily find shelves empty and go hungry
• We do not eat at home much anymore, and cooking knowledge is not being passed down to the next generation

Fortunately there is a way to turn this around.

• Buying from a local farmer creates jobs for our community
• Local produce improves our health, because food retains more nutritional value when it is fresher
• Family farms tend not to use dangerous chemicals because they also eat what they grow
• Unlike big grocery chains, local sellers don’t use radiation
• One can eat well and less expensively if one makes it a habit to eat seasonally and to buy non-perishable staples in bulk when the price is right

May this book inspire a visit with your local farmers to learn how many different kinds of fruits and vegetables can be grown nearby and about the health protection nutritionally dense food provides. Please support these wonderful folks with your wallet, so they will always be around to support you with their life-sustaining abundance!

In health, yours truly