I Want to be an Earthbound Cook

For the From Left to Write Book Club, we read "The Earthbound Cook" by Myra Goodman, a cook book promising 250 Recipes for Delicious Food and A Healthy Planet. This post is inspired by that book.

It's been quiet around here these days, I know. Personally, I'm shocked I'm even getting this post together. A ton of time in the office and some other things seem to be sapping me of all energy and brain cells these days. Not only has this poor blog been terribly neglected, but so has our kitchen and nutrition. One night I ate a bowl of olives and then cereal for dinner. The next night I made macaroni and cheese (the blue box kind bought on sale for $1, waiting for a rainy day...). Indeed most nights William has eaten the best of what our freezer has to offer, I've been content with cereal, and Matt scrounges for left overs. His ability to eat just about anything comes in handy in times like these.

So, when I received this cook book I put it away and figured I'd find a time to get to it. And then I put it off and off and off. When I finally picked it up and started reading through it, looked at the gorgeous pictures, skimmed through the recipes, it was like a slap in the face. The vision of the mac and cheese blue box against the photos of the author's organic farm was torture.

I made a deal with myself then. I would make two recipes from the cook book in that week. I didn't have time to go to the grocery store until Saturday, so I chose two recipes (Orechiette with Broccolette and Mushroom Barley Soup) and took Willliam to Whole Foods to get some organic ingredients. That night I tried to convince myself to order in, take it easy, but instead I threw together the Orechiette with Broccolette. It was great and maybe the fifth time I'd cooked in the last 12 weeks. (It's been that bleak in our kitchen these days.)

I had to go to the office on Sunday, so my plan was to get the soup ready and then catch the train downtown. In stepped Matt, insisting that he could do it. I was skeptical. He knows how to cook, but doesn't do it all that much anymore. Can I tell you how great it was to come home on a Sunday night after a long day of work to a warm bowl of soup that all three of us seemed to equally enjoy?

I want to be an Earthbound Cook. I want to cook delicious, fresh, organic meals. However, with two working parents (one working overtime these days) it's too easy to take the simple way out. And I do. Last year I pulled out the crock pot during this busy time, but this year I'm just too tired. Come January I'll refocus and try more of these recipes, until then, pass the olives.

This post was inspired by the book "The Earthbound Cook" by Myra Goodman, which I received complimentary as a part of From Left to Write Book Club. See how other bloggers were inspired by this book here.