Urban Farming

I recently watched a documentary called Urban Fruit. It followed a few city dwellers who were fed up with not knowing where their food was coming from and decided to take matters into their own hands. While I can't say that this is something I would ever consider doing (I kill plants), I found it incredibly interesting. I'm a big believer in the whole "farm to table" movement when it comes to fresh ingredients. Food should be whole, in its best state, and unadulterated. Not corporately owned, chemically treated and genetically modified. If I personally knew someone who had a small crop of their own I would definitely help support them. I think that the people that have the time and knowledge to do this are amazing and we need more of them.

Is it good?

Is it good? The question is purely subjective. In America we have culturally appropriated a cuisine based on what WE think it should be. But is it good? If you asked a native Italian to go to the Olive Garden to try "Italian foods" I can almost guarantee you that they would be offended. It's like being in a bad relationship. You go through the motions but there is no heart or soul in it. When I spent 4 years living in Italy, more specifically Sicily, I can tell you this, we have screwed up their food. I've walked through endless markets of produce and fish pondering the potential that the foods hold.

Growing up American when you hear Italian food you automatically go to spaghetti and meatballs. This is not something that you would EVER see on a SICILIAN menu. Even something so simple as pizza is without a shadow of a doubt, substantially better when you char the bottom in a stone oven, paired with a glass of local white wine and over look the Mediterranean Ocean in the bay of Aci Trezza. I've done this. Its fantastic. It's good, very good. But we have bastardized the pizza. It's greasy, chewy, overloaded with toppings and stuffed with cheese in the crust. No. We, as Americans, have ruined the pizza. While there are grassroots movements to improve our methods of pizza making, its safe to say that the American pizza still misses the mark.

Ever tried horse meat? I have. While it wasn't pleasant to my palette, its a delicacy in Sicily. Swordfish. Rich, meaty, buttery. Prawns plucked fresh from the sea daily. Lets not forget the simple cannoli, the creamy gelato, the flakey cornetto (croissant) filled with pistachio cream or nutella.

Sicily. Why did I ever leave?