Comments on: I Don’t Cook, I Forage

By: Melinda Fleming

Melinda Fleming — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:40:25 +0000

How refreshing! I don’t like cooking at all. Neither does my husband. Guess who ends up doing most of it…he does most of the washing up afterwards though. But left to my own devices I would cook as little as possible.

By: Boris Mann

Boris Mann — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:29:34 +0000

Cooking for one is tough. Cook in quantity, freeze it, and then you can forage your way into hot meals by hitting the freezer.

Start with simple stuff like soups and stews. It feels like work, because you don’t have practice. Take joy in creating something with your hands – it’s easier and more satisfying than wood working :P

I recently read “The Fruit Hunters”, which is an exploration of fruit worldwide, as well as some of the history of fruit. It is only in the last couple of hundred years that we have cultivated fruit that tastes sweet to humans and needs no preparation! In Roman times, the apricot had to be baked or dried before it was edible at all!

Cookbooks are probably the hardest part of cooking. It makes you think there are RULES that most be FOLLOWED. Not true, except perhaps in baking (which I do less of, because it isn’t very forgiving). Cookbooks, like other people’s blog posts, are there for inspiration.

Hope to see you on Bowen soon – I’m probably heading over this weekend. Cheers!

By: prad

prad — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 18:24:32 +0000

nice to see you settling in to your new life, dave!
living simply and thereby allowing others to simply live is one of the few redeeming paths left for our species.

‘foraging’raw vegan is certainly an excellent way to walk the path.

in friendship,
prad

By: Jim

Jim — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 08:09:40 +0000

When else in our evolution have we done so much of our foraging, hunting, and preparing of meals – alone? Alone, as in, as individuals? Alone without meaning, ritual, or thanks? I believe that is a primary disconnect (of our agrarian culture).

That, and wanting to satisfy our daily needs “fast” – so we can get on with our over-budgeted day, polishing those specializations/skills/knowledge that we value above community and all its nourishment (especially those in our community that we eat).

Just a thought…

By: Jon Husband

Jon Husband — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 01:20:51 +0000

very infrequently, I meant.

By: Jon Husband

Jon Husband — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 01:19:57 +0000

For some people, cooking is their art, or their hobby. I used to enjoy cooking very much when I lived and ate alone, but have stopped for the past 7 or 8 years. I was actually a pretty good cook, or so said my friends, but I now cook very frequently since I now live with someone who is a much better cook than me, and who uses the cooking as her creative and expressive outlet. And she is oh so very talented !

But I also like foraging, and snacking throughout the day on healthy delicious stuff .. just as enjoyable as a gourmet meal, but different.

By: Joachim

Joachim — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:43:44 +0000

Dave, try to cook some Chinese food (authentic Chinese that is). It’s very healthy, simple to prepare, and can be almost meditative. All you need is a good iron wok, fresh veggies and a chopping knife. Stir fry for a minute or two, serve with brown rice, and enjoy!

By: Janene

Janene — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:48:24 +0000

Exactly S.A… since learning that, I have made a conscious effort to eat more different foods… and discovered how incredibly hard that really is! On a good day I’ll have six or seven different vegies, maybe a couple fruits, some meat and some fish, maybe even poultry also… but two good days in a row just means the same variety repeated! Or at least nearly. I’ve probably not expanded much beyond 50 (well, maybe 100) different foods in a year, but compared to “picky eaters” that may only eat ten or twelve, I guess that’s an improvement :-D

However, I have to disagree with your last statement. Like I said I Cook! And nothing pleases me more than to make something and then get to enjoy the pleasure it creates in others as they eat!

Janene

By: Survival Acres

Survival Acres — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:50:02 +0000

Janene – I read somewhere that we used to eat over 3,000 different foods, now it’s less then 50 in the average diet. Boring….

I am the only one that eats leftovers here (regularly). Probably because I don’t much care for cooking, although sometimes the creative urge strikes to try something different and then I’m in the kitchen making a mess. I had brocolli soup for breakfast…. because it was “there” and quick and easy to warm up.

But Dave brings up a good point. If we don’t have a need to socialize with our cooking (or the desire), then some of us tend to just plow through it.

Paleo humans “grazed”, probably on a semi-constant basis as food sources were found in the course of their daily activities. The notion of “meals” at dinner time or lunch or breakfast probably didn’t exist. Several small meals per day is much more healthy then packing your stomach full of food with too-large meals two or three times a day.

This is a habit that I’ve cultivated some, to each something small whenever I feel like it, but also to avoid big meals (and nothing much after 5:00 pm so that I sleep on a nearly empty stomach).

Lastly, it’s much more enjoyable to be on the receiving end on all of this, and let somebody else do the cooking!

By: vera

vera — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:40:49 +0000

Hey Dave… bonobos hunt. Very effectively, I might add.

I am also into cooking, always have been, but more and more I am moving toward less cooking and more foraging. I think you have identified a trend! :-)