Pride and Strawberries

I recently joined Eat Local Burlington, a group that promotes local, sustainable eating.   Before leaving the house for my first ‘meet up’ (strawberry picking at a local farm), I received an email from my niece reminding me of the birthday dinner that I had promised her, which I know was her way of saying “I miss you uncle and I want to spend time with you.”  True, it’s been months since I saw her.  But aside from the reminder, she told me that she was proud to call me her uncle.  Brought tears to my eyes.

Now, had she said ‘I love you’, I  would’ve just said ‘I love you back’, but for her to say she’s proud of me as an uncle triggers a different set of emotions.  It’s got to do with acceptance, and more.  It’s a feeling that goes back to your childhood.  Playmates saying ‘you’re alright’ you can join us.  Or your father saying, ‘you did good’.  From early on in life to adulthood, we constantly seek this feeling, even more than love, from our peers, teachers, partners, bosses and human kind in general.  But there is one person who can’t seem to give it to us.  Our own self.  What does it feel like to have self pride that you never feel the opposite – shame, insecurity, inferiority.  To never question whether you’re alright because you have different skin colour, religion, ability, sexual orientation and other circumstances that make you different.  To be proud, not inspite of being different, but because of it.  Is pride intrinsic?  It’s hard to say when there are so many outside factors contributing to our lack of it.

In terms of food, why are some cultures made to feel ashamed of what they eat?  The reaction some people from Asian countries get from others, for example, when they say they eat chicken feet or pig’s lungs.  But escargot, frog’s legs and foi gras are considered gourmet.  Every culture has their own peculiarities that they are not proud of when it comes to food and eating.  Every now and then, when there’s no one around, I eat using my hands, without cutlery.  It’s part of my Filipino culture.  And some food tastes better this way.  Does the fact that I would never do this in a restaurant mean that I am not proud of it? 

Now back to the strawberries.  I’m proud to say that I picked a basket of sweet strawberries myself.  I gave a bowl to my next door neighbour.  She was happy.  I will freeze a bunch for smoothies.  But fresh picked summer berries are best eaten as is, or incorporated in salads like Quinoa and Strawberry Salad (recipe below).  Stay tuned for more strawberry recipes.

Quinoa and Strawberry Salad

1 cup     quinoa
2 cups    fresh local strawberries
3 Tbsp   raisins (roughly   chopped)
¼ cup     cashew (coarsely chopped)



Dressing

1 ½ Tbsp              red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp                  lemon juice (about ¼ lemon)
3 Tbsp                  grapeseed oil (or olive oil)
1 Tbsp                  thyme (roughly chopped)
Pinch                    sea salt
Pinch                    fresh ground pepper

1.  Bring about 3 liters of water to boil.
2. Wash quinoa in cold water and strain. 
3. Add quinoa to boiling water and cook for about 20-25 min.
4. Strain the quinoa and wash it with cold water to stop the cooking process.  Drain excess liquid.
5. Meanwhile, wash and hull strawberries.  Cut each in half and slice each half.  Set aside
6. In a medium bowl, combine quinoa, strawberries, raisins and cashew.
7. In a separate bowl, combine vinegar, lemon juice, grape seed oil and thyme.  Whisk until mixed thoroughly.  Season with salt and pepper.
8. Add dressing to the salad and mix well.  Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Note:  Quinoa (“kee-nwah”) is grain originally from South America.  It is available in most supermarkets or specialty stores.  If not available, use other grains such as couscous or bulgur.

www.springridgefarm.com

my strawberry harvest