
One of my Christmas presents from Mr. Commonwealth was tickets to see an interview with Alice Waters, chef-owner of the award-winning Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, cookbook author, and founder of the food-education program, The Edible Schoolyard, for which she was recently awarded the National Medal of Humanities. For over 40 years, Waters has been advocating a food philosophy based on sustainability, intention, and seasonality, forcefully arguing that a diet centered around fresh, local foods is both better for the environment and better for the body.
Her restaurant has been described as an incubator for a whole generation of chefs that have gone on to helm their own internationally-renowned restaurants, and generated renewed interest in farmers markets and local foodsheds all over the country. I've been reading about Alice Waters for probably 25 years, and enjoying a meal at Chez Panisse is on my personal bucket list, so I was really excited to hear first-hand how her food philosophy developed, and about her efforts to introduce school children to the pleasures of growing, cooking, and eating good food.
And since the evening fell during a weeks-long stretch of gray, rainy weather, I was looking forward to getting some inspiration for my own winter kitchen.
Like many professional and novice chefs, her interest in food began with a memorable meal. In Ms. Waters' case, it all started with a simple bowl of soup enjoyed as an exchange student in mid-60's France. Post-war France had escaped the large-scale industrialization and commoditization of food production that began in the U.S. during WWII and has largely continued, unabated. As a junior in college, Ms. Waters' tastebuds already recognized a significant difference between the raw ingredients and meals available and prepared in France, and what was showing up at American markets, restaurants, and increasingly, home dinner tables. So while her restaurant career began with an effort to get paid for the meals she started cooking for an expanding circle of friends, her interest in and passion for fresh ingredients began much earlier.

As a restauranteur, she set about sourcing the best, freshest, and most responsibly-grown food that she could find. Surprisingly, although northern California has a climate suitable for growing something year-round, her options in the early-70's were pretty limited. She finally resolved to draw a circle on a map representing an hour's drive from the restaurant, and to visit all the organic farms within that circumference. At the time, that list comprised 7 farms. That today the circle would likely include more than 10 times as many, is a testament to her determination and the support and cooperation of her local farmers. And she is effusive in her praise of both those first, tenacious farmers that the restaurant partnered with - some of whom continue to supply Chez Panisse - and their worthy successors. In her view, "there should be fewer famous chefs and more famous farmers."
The Edible Schoolyard program evolved from a mother's honest concern about her daughter's school lunches, and the reliance of low-income families on highly-processed, industrialized food. What started with a garden and outdoor kitchen replacing a school's buckled asphalt playground and graffiti-scarred utility shed, has grown into a national program using the growing, harvesting and preparing of food to teach lessons in virtually every school subject. Schools that participate in The Edible Schoolyard program are provided curriculum guides, growing instructions, resource lists, and access to a growing network of educators and food activists determined to reclaim their communities' environmental and physical health one seed at a time.

One of the more interesting aspects of the interview was a discussion about how Americans view eating and food, in general. Not surprisingly, in addition to advocating for sourcing and cooking food intentionally, Ms. Waters advocates eating intentionally as well. For her, food should be prepared and consumed with thought and pleasure, with none of the "good" and "bad" associations Americans tend to burden it with. And it absolutely shouldn't be eaten from a paper bag behind the wheel of a car - at least not as a regular practice. To her view, fast, cheap, and easy food, easily leads to an expectation of fast, cheap, and easy everything.
The Edible Schoolyard program incorporates this same idea of eating intentionally, as well. Schools that participate in the program are encouraged to incorporate dining areas into their outdoor classrooms, so that students may sit down together to enjoy the meals they produce. It was this shared meal experience that Ms. Waters offered as being one of the most surprising parts of launching the program. She described the first few meals as being very quiet and seeming uncomfortable for the students. After a few days, one of the teachers hit on the problem: students had so little experience in shared meals, they didn't know what to say to each other when they sat down together. While that hurdle was easily cleared with the creation of "question" or "topic" cards left at each student's place, it served as a powerful demonstration of the gap between the ideal of meals nurturing more than just the body, and the day-to-day existence of America's families.
So what does all of this mean for me?

As my children get older and more involved in activities with school and their friends, it admittedly can get difficult to get everyone to the dining table at the same time. But I agree with Ms. Waters, that this is a worthwhile effort. However, nothing says you have to sit down together at home, so maybe picnics become more commonplace, or we eat together in shifts, even if that means that occasionally what everyone's eating is take-out. When we do eat at home, I guard that time from the intrusion of screens or phones, try to set a nice table, light some candles, and turn on some music we all like. Anything to distinguish that time as being for rest, pleasure, and nourishment.
In the kitchen, it's a constant effort to evaluate what we're eating, where it came from, and how it was produced. But I don't honestly find this to be particularly time-consuming, as seasonality and availability are just additional factors to be incorporated each week when I plan our menu. And frankly, I enjoy thinking about food. I enjoy eating it too, so I don't mind spending some time to consider what I want to cook and where I can find the best-tasting, most-affordable ingredients. And while this is certainly made easier by living in a temperate climate, it's possible to eat seasonally, and as locally as possible, anywhere. It might just require trying new ingredients and recipes, and going off your beaten path. But the rewards can be delicious.
In honor of eating seasonally, I've rounded up a few recipes highlighting ingredients that are likely available in abundance - and at more affordable prices - this time of year. These are things I either make myself or have on my list to try over the next few weeks. If you try one of the recipes, please let me know what you thought of it. And if you have any other seasonal favorites, I encourage you to share them!
Citrus: lemon curd, herb and citrus oven-roasted chicken
Winter squash and potatoes: roasted garlic-parmesan acorn squash, lentil-vegetable curry with sweet potatoes
Greens: massaged kale salad, green smoothies
If you're looking for more information and inspiration for eating seasonally, locally, and with intention, I encourage you to check out the website for the Edible Schoolyard. Any of Alice Waters' cookbooks provide wonderful guidance and inspiration, and Barbara Kingsolvers' Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is one that I pick up over and over again.