Living Local - Beneficial Soil Bacteria

Today I was taking some homemade cheese out of the fridge (making Lasagne!) and noticed a bit of reddish mold had started to grow on it…..of course my mind immediately went to – I wonder what kind of mold that is? Would it make a nice rind on a cheese and how would I cultivate it!!!!

To be honest I have caught myself thinking like this over and over lately in all kinds of situations and realized that is fairly close to the mindset I would have had when I was growing up.

I don’t know about you, but if there was mold on cheese in my house….well, it was cut off and the rest was eaten. Then, there was a relative or two who would also eat the mold….but that’s another post!

Likewise, if there was a bit of mold growth on the jam…it might be stirred in as much as scooped out….most food was generally fresh and eaten fairly quickly, however, nothing went to waste, under any circumstances.

Milk that had gone 'off' was used in breads, baking and given to animals as feed. Wilting vegetables were used in soups and stews. Old, stale bread went into puddings, toast and bread crumbs. 

Our bodies should be able to tolerate low levels of naturally occurring organisms that grow in, around and on our food. But, one thing that must be pointed out here is these days most food is so far removed from ‘normal’ the organisms we might find on it are in themselves a disaster.

When we go to a modern day supermarket to get our carrots….they are all neatly lined up in a bin looking nearly identical to each other, as clean as a whistle with nothing to distinguish them from any other carrot. The same goes for pretty well all other vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and fresh produce.

Sterilized food. There is nothing living in there and the vegetables themselves are lacking in nutrients mostly because they are depleted of these beneficial organisms every step (from soil, water and lack of direct sunlight) along the way of this mass production.

This is why I spend my time in the garden, wild foraging and shopping in local farmers markets – my body requires real, living food in order to function at optimum levels. Not to mention just for basic health and survival.

One of the things I love about market shopping….we get as much as we possibly can from our local markets and of course, I am equally participating in this local community endeavor – is the lack of packaging, the variety and the life to be found there.

Our food is meant to be alive inside and out….which includes healthy, normal soil bacteria. Start getting your fruit, veg and some of your foods at your local farmers market….you will notice a difference in your digestion and your social interaction!

April

Sauted chanterelles with garlic & onions.....wild foraging in West Cork!