Food Course: Food For the Household

Monday started with a class session discussing gardens, meals, and cooking. Mary Ruth talked about the gardens in The Bible. Eden and the garden where Jesus was laid in the tomb act as bookends to the salvation narrative. (I think the tree of life on each side of the river in Revelation 22 probably is a more fitting bookend). The garden of Gethsemane falls in the middle, a symbol of the opposite of both Eden & the world after Jesus' resurrection, despite its beauty. We talked about the 'more than' essence of Christian life, and the role gardening plays in being more than just producing food.

Meals are a means of celebrating culture, family, history and being mindful of God. Mary Ruth talked about creating a meal culture that cultivates these through table settings, companions, and thankfulness to God.

Our cooking discussion focussed on how we learn and teach basic cooking skills, practice economy, use gardens and make decisions about what we eat (or don't eat). My quote comes from Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food. "To eat slowly, then, also means to eat deliberately, in the original sense of that word: ‘from freedom’ instead of compulsion." (The subtitle is a good summary of his book: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.")

We then went to visit an organic 6-acre farm at the north end of Galiano, owned by Donna and Hans (friends of the Wilkinsons). It is a self-sustaining garden, that produces enough to supply a number of households on the island. Donna runs a CSA-type of arrangement with these families, makes preserves (like her yummy Kiwi, Blackberry & Orange Jam) and sells any extra veges at the local market. This place also reminded me of my grandparents' garden, but Grandad doesn't have to set (humane) beaver traps to protect his orchard!

While most of the class remained to help in the garden for an hour or so, I returned with my group to prepare our 'mindful meal'. More about that next post!

Food Course: Rest, Retreat and Worship

Sunday was scheduled as a day of rest. People had the opportunity to have family visit (and it happened to be Mothers' Day). We made pizzas (with lots of individual variations), sat and talked, and Anna pulled out her watercolours for people to have a go.

It rained some time, but it was a chance to catch up on reading, do some journalling and reflect on the course so far.

I loved the sound and sight of the rain in the forest area and wrote this poem (Disclaimer: I am not a poet!)

Tin roof timpani

Log trombone with moss mufflers

Slick, lustrous arbutus double bass

Invisibly-plucked fiddlehead strings

Shimmering pine needle chimes

Fern flutes a-flutter

Leafy piano keys fingered by raindrops

I fathom Beethoven's frustration

as I strain for the whispers

of the forest's symphonic crescendo

Food Course: Salt Spring Island

Our Saturday morning started early. We had a field trip to Salt Spring Island planned. Half of the group rowed 3-4 km across the strait between Galiano Island and Salt Spring Island. The other half drove down to the ferry terminal and caught the ferry from Galiano Island to Vancouver Island, then on to Salt Spring Island. The groups swapped for the return journey, the ferry-ers stopping to shop for the weeks' meals on the way back. I was in the group that took the ferry in the morning.

Our main destination was Salt Spring Seeds. This farm, dedicated to growing food and seed of older varieties of plants, is run by Dan Jason. His 'seed and plant sanctuary' is funded by the sales of his heirloom seeds and the yoga centre on the property. (Some similar heirloom seed and plant growers in New Zealand are Koanga Gardens, Seed Savers, Edible Garden, and Eco-Seeds.) Dan spoke to us about the need to save seed, his philosophy of conservation and farming, the problems associated with genetically-modified seed, and then showed us round part of the farm.

The farm reminded me of my grandparents and their 3-acre farm in Levin, NZ. They have a fabulous vege garden, orchard and flower garden. Grandad enjoys sharing his produce and Heath family Christmasses wouldn't be the same without their potatoes, peas, and salad greens!

After visiting the farm we swapped transport and my group headed back to the boat. (The Wilkinsons use this boat on their summer school boat course each year.) On the way to the dock we stopped at a market day in the settlement called Ganges. There were lots of crafts, preserves and plants from the local artisans and gardeners. The other group had stopped there earlier in the day.The trip back to Galiano took about an hour and a half. It was much more difficult to keep in time with each other than it looked. I'm sure I'd get the hang of it by the end of the boat course, but my fellow rowers may have thrown me overboard by then! There was no wind and......we broke an oar about halfway back across the strait!We got home safely enough, and scrambled up the rocks before reheating some nettle spanokopita (picked by myself and Nathan, and prepared by myself, Joe Ellis and Sarah Crowley before the course started).

Food Course: Day 5

Our fifth day focussed on the connections between people, food and land. We broke our fast with challah bread and helped prepare the Seder meal.

Our discussions focussed on the gift of the promised land to the Israelites, a restoration of their relationship with God and the land. This was linked with the Passover and jubilee festivals, inaugurated in the Old Testament. We also discussed the implications of the new covenant in the New Testament and the heralding of God's kingdom on earth.

These discussions about people's broken relationships with the land led to a conversation about western farming practices, and how changes in the 1920s and 1930s (particularly in the US) advocated farmers (and farm land) as producers, rather than the established concept of farmers as nurturers of the land. We talked about bioregionalism, and the emergence of the conservation and environmental movements.

Our reading included excerpts from a couple of essays by Wendell Berry, one of Loren's favourite authors and poets. The quote I chose is from Berry's first chapter of "The Unsettling of America", page 12:
"But is work something that we have a right to escape? And can we escape it with impunity? We are probably the first entire people ever to think so. All the ancient wisdom that has come down to us counsels otherwise. It tells us that work is necessary to us, as much a part of our condition as mortality; that good work is our salvation and our joy; that shoddy or dishonest or self-serving work is our curse and our doom. We have tried to escape the sweat and sorrow promised in Genesis—only to find that, in order to do so, we must forswear love and excellence, health and joy."

Seder Meal

It was a natural conclusion to our days spent talking about biblical foundations for the understanding of food, to have a seder meal, a feast celebrated during the Jewish passover. As you can see, Mary Ruth and Loren really got into the spirit of things as our 'parents' presiding over the meal!We gathered around the specially laid table. Each setting was headed with a small plate of symbolic food, a shell, a wine glass, a bowl of salty water, and a booklet containing a form of liturgy. Here you can see the special Seder plate at the head of the table, which contains the symbolic food:
* a green herb (parsley) to be dipped in salty water - a symbol of new life coming from sweat and suffering in the past
* a lamb shank bone (from the roast lamb) - a reminder of the lamb eaten by the Israelites on the night God passed over their houses, sparing their first-born
* bitter herbs (horseradish, onion and lettuce) - a symbol of the bitter life of slavery under Pharaoh in Egypt
* charoset (a 'pebbly' mixture of apples, nuts and spices, moistened with wine), in which the bitter herbs are dipped - a symbol of the mortar and bricks the Israelites slaves made in Egypt
* an egg (hard-boiled or roasted) - a symbol of the cycle of life, and also a symbol of mourning the destruction of Jerusalem

The liturgy recalls the Israelites escape from Egypt, the goodness of God, and offers praise to God. I helped make the unleavened matzah bread (a bit like crackers - whole wheat flour, oil and water) that was broken and shared. The liturgy also encouraged the consumption of four glasses of wine. Given that we'd spent the previous day fasting (in line with our discussion earlier), we all poured very small portions!

Once the main part of the liturgy was complete we feasted! Chicken soup with matzo balls, roast lamb, salad, vegetables, and Passover cake for dessert (much like a sponge cake made with almond meal).
We were all very full by the end of the evening, as we finished the liturgy with praise and thanksgiving.

Food Course: Days 3 - 4

Days 3 and 4 of the course were entitled "Biblical Foundations and Themes" and we delved into scripture to explore the ideas of Eden, Passover, kosher eating, feasting, fasting, sabbath, hospitality, justice and Eucharist.

Obviously that was a lot to cover, so here are some notes that have got me thinking:
1. Sabbath: In sabbath becoming Sunday, it loses its deep sense of peace...
* setting aside our own agendas
* appreciating what we have
* sharing what we have
* delighting in what we have
Sabbath is not a legalistic duty but linked to the creation narrative (with all its implications), centred on a meal. Any meal can be a mini-sabbath if it helps us slow down and appreciate God's goodness to us.

2. Eden: Genesis 2:15-17 sets God's agenda for creation and humanity. Man participates with God in the full flowering of creation. The garden is life-giving and comes with a prohibition (and consequences). Death is part of creation before humanity is created (think compost and geological findings about fossil fuels!) How is death as a punishment to be seen then? Sin is ultimately about our choice to separate ourselves from God. The immediate death in Eden is the fear, shame and discomfort that Adam & Eve suffer when they eat the forbidden fruit, breaking their communion with God. Alexander Schmemann, an Eastern Orthodox theologian, has more to say about the sacramental nature of life in For the Life of the World.

3. Hospitality: The covenantal relationships God has with humanity and creation are often sealed and celebrated with a meal (sacrifice or feast). In Genesis 18, Abraham welcomes his holy guests with a meal. In 2 Kings 6:8-23 a meal is the setting in which conflicts are solved. In some cultures (ancient & nowadays) a guest is considered 'family' once they have had a meal, or three cups of tea, or eaten bread... Even in the West today, food is used to break down social barriers, to build relationships, and celebrate people and remembered events.

4. Fasting & Kosher: One way show appreciation for God is to feast and be thankful; another is to refrain from eating certain foods, or for a period of time. This acknowledges that while food is a necessity, it can also become a temptation or idol. How and what we eat is important. In recognising our hunger, we recognise our need for and dependence on God.

The quotes I chose for these days are:
"The first, the basic definition of man is that he is the priest. He stands in the center of the world and unifies it in his acts of blessing God, of both receiving the world from God and offering it to God – and by filling the world with this eucharist, he transforms his life, the one he receives from the world, into life in God, into communion with Him. The world was created as the “matter,” the material of one all-embracing eucharist, and man was created as the priest of this cosmic sacrament" (Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World, 15).

This one just tickled my fancy! "Except ye munch the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, ye have not life in yourselves" (Aileen Guilding, The Fourth Gospel and Jewish Worship, 59, [quoting John 6:53, my italics]). No wonder the early Christians were thought to be cannabilistic in their worship of Christ! But surely we would gain more life if we really savour our relationship with Jesus.

"In the eucharist the curse is undone and paradise restored. Instead of the eating that brought death there is offered the eating that brings eternal life. The… Eucharistic bread as the antidote to the forbidden fruit of Genesis 3” (Guilding, 63).

Food Course: Day 2

Okay, so I haven't been on the food course for the last 2 months, but here is my attempt to begin to catch you up with what has happened (briefly!)

Day 2 was entitled "Eating to Live / Living to Eat" and our lecture and discussion focussed on the flow from the biology... to ecology... to philosophy... and to theology of eating. We talked about the need to eat and how our bodies use food, especially about the misleading analogy of the body as a machine (machines burn fuel, while bodies are rebuilt by the food we consume). We discussed agriculture as a simplified form of a natural ecosystem, which in itself can also be a large threat to the natural ecosystem! The philosophical and theological discussions ended up melding into one discussion but I can't really sum it up in a sentence. We ranged far and wide!

The quote I chose for today was from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (page 10): “I used to take my children’s friends out to the garden to warm them up to the idea of eating vegetables, but this strategy sometimes backfired: they’d back away slowly saying, ‘Oh man, those things touched dirt!’”
Kingsolver's book was an easy, informative, and entertaining read. Her website continues the story from her book, which documents her family's move to a farm in the Appalachian countryside.