For two years, I was blessed to live at Villa St. Joseph Retreat and Ecology Centre in Cobourg, ON and to spend the summer at the Ignatius Jesuit Centre in Guelph, ON. Nettie and Susan, two gifted cooks, skillfully prepared delicious meals that were nourishing for both body and soul! Experiencing earth to table eating allowed me to enjoy the wonderful sensory delight of organic food. If persons in Cobourg and Guelph wish to grow their own food organically, they are able to rent community garden plots. Community Shared Agriculture in Guelph provides freshly harvested organic products for persons to take home for family meals. What joy I experienced as I visited farmers’ markets, connecting with the people who grow our food! Local food is not necessarily organic; and, organic food is not always local. Look in your own community for the perfect combination of local food grown using organic or ecological practices.
Organic farmers follow the specific ecological practices stipulated in Canada’s National Organic Standard. They work with the diversity that nature already offers: They save and exchange seeds and knowledge. Healthy soil, rich in minerals and nutrients, produces appealing and flavourful food. As the saying goes, “we are what we eat.” It is important to know exactly what our bodies are digesting and how it came to be on our plate in the first place. The wisdom of organic farming speaks for itself. To sample some tried and true recipes, you can visit Susan Sprague’s blog at: www.loyolahousekitchen.wordpress.com where you can get recipe the recipe for her Vegan Carrot Cake pictured above.
Bon Appetite!
https://loyolahousekitchen.wordpress.com/2015/10/02/septembers-taste-of-italy-celebration-3/
Kathleen O’Keefe, CSJ