By Elsa Perez Dean
One of my most vivid childhood memories takes me back…way back, to a time when playing outdoors meant running free for hours on end knowing you’d be rewarded at the end of a long day with an incredible home-cooked meal. The moment I am talking about takes me back to a summer day spent in Mexico, visiting family on their modest ranch. The memory is so vivid I can recall the smell of the animals, the sound of the breeze brushing the corn stalks and the taste of a freshly picked tomato, sprinkled with salt and lime for our afternoon snack. My mouth waters even as I think of it now.
I grew up around amazing food as a kid in San Francisco watching and eating as my parents lived out their American dream operating a small Mexican Taqueria. The smells and tastes I experienced growing up were complex and wonderful, to say the least. Although I can honestly admit that as a child, I had no real appreciation for how lucky I was to be exposed to such depth of flavor. But the memory of the summer day on the farm has been forever imbedded in my psyche. And I’m glad…
It has been well over 30 years since that day on the ranch. In that time, I have become much more appreciative of the food I grew up on not only for the flavors but for the way in which it was prepared. Food is a central part of Mexican culture and is not fast…Food takes commitment. I have become much more aware of what that means to me on many levels and for a variety of reasons. I look back at how my family grew, prepared and shared their food. The ranch was my first real glimpse at farming and the resulting flavors yielded by the land. I have discovered a little later in life just how committed to food I really am.
In recent years, my husband and I have been expanding our little vegetable garden at home. What began as a quest for the perfect tomato in the backyard has evolved into the complete removal of two planting strips, a side bed and a cornucopia of flavors coming from our front yard. We have added zucchini, butternut squash, runner beans, bell peppers and a variety of fresh herbs to our mix. It has been wonderful to have fresh produce on hand. I also take pride in the fact that we had some part in sustaining our little family. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy frequent trips to my neighborhood PCC but there’s nothing like eating out of your own garden. Not to mention the savings in our grocery bills.
One thing I didn’t expect from this little food experiment was how connected we would become with our neighbors. I am sure you can imagine their surprise to see us tediously removing our front yard planting strips. There were many inquiries as to what our big landscaping plans would involve. We were met with a few raised eyebrows as we explained that our ultimate goal is to eventually transform our entire front yard (best sun) into a year-round vegetable and herb garden. ‘Oh…’ and ‘why not just buy them?’ were common responses. Simply put, because nothing tastes better than a well-tended vegetable from your own garden. Our summer bounty was so plentiful-ok maybe we overestimated how much to plant-we found ourselves regularly sharing tomatoes, zucchinis and beans with them. Word spread quickly through the hood and soon we were trading vegetables for fresh eggs…In North Seattle of all places!
There have been several articles in local papers talking about the rise in urban farming over the last year. This comes as no surprise to me as I witness the number of front yard vegetable gardens increase in my own little neck of the woods. Who knows how many more are planted in backyards. What was once thought of as an eyesore (let’s face it-some vegetables get a little out of control) is now looked upon with a nod of approval. I will admit that my reasons for starting the garden stem back to a childhood memory of delicious tasting food. However, the added benefits – from sharing food with neighbors, to promoting sustainable practices and support of local farms (for those items deemed out of our comfort zone)- have been wonderful outcomes that have opened my eyes and changed my view of food completely. Whatever your motivation, I say start small, plant a seed and watch it grow. It’s easy and you’ll have good food at your fingertips.
