First off, I'm a fan of history and food. So when I found Tasting History on YouTube I was a fan right off the bat.
In fact, I tried this dish below. Although I was disappointed in it at the end of the day. I didn't have two of the ingredients; lovage and caraway seeds (which Sue swore she had), so I ended up replacing them with celery leaf and cumin. The chicken ended up being very moist and peppery but there was no "wow" flavor. Nothing that unusual about it, even though it used several ingredients that I was unfamiliar with. I don't mind being pushed out of my comfort zone in the name of good food.
It did bring up an interesting question for me however. If I'm serious about learning how to garden, preserving my food and other things...would I be willing to try and raise "forgotten" foods?
This interest actually goes all the way back to collage, when I learned that Spirulina was used by the Aztecs in a type of dried cake. Of course, the Spaniards - being the more "civilized" - looked down upon this food and it fell out of favor. Today, it's made a bit of a comeback as a supplement but is still not consumed in mass qualities. I guess most people don't want to eat an algae. In fact, their are entire libraries about food that fell out of favor for what ever reason.
Other foods, such as the so called ancient grains, have made a comeback in recent years due to a variety of reasons, including an increase in Celiac Disease over the last several years. Now I could make a snarky comment about marketing here...but I won't.
Anyhow, to get back on topic. Why not grow some plants that have been forgotten? Or at least try to?
I'm not talking about raising Ortolan Buntings either. I'm talking about Lovage. I'm talking about Ground Cherries, Egyptian onions, Sorrel and other forgotten plants.
However that is still in the spring, which will be here before I know it. As such, I've started a small mulch pile out back which currently exists only of leaf debris and a bit of organics like an old apple core or two. I'll be adding a more "green" layer to it with grass clippings soon enough. We were thinking about buying a 20 year old lawnmower with a snow plow attachment and an old trailer to help cut the lawn, move the mulch to the garden and the wood to the house.
I've been to realize just how useful something like that could be around our two + acres.
I'm really getting into the research here, and I've often said that I am a researcher at heart, and hope to be able to take all this knowledge to a practical level soon enough. Although I've a feeling that our first garden will be smaller than I think and not on raised beds like I would like.
That's okay, I'm still learning. '
We will be planting the more traditional cucumbers, tomatoes, garlic, onions, etc as well. For Sue and myself, it's more about getting out food bill down and living a more sustainable lifestyle. I'm attracted to the idea of keeping some of the more historically grown plants alive and vital.
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