Getting Fresh

In The Day, "fresh" meant someone who stepped over the boundary of decorum and flirted openly with a gal or a guy. "Fresh" today connotes vegetables or meats that haven't been around for a long period before hitting the sales counter. The other day, I watched a movie in which three renowned chefs, all male of course, were to put on a special dinner for hoards of people who knew their food and wine. Their country was elsewhere. Most of the ingredients were local and fresh. And while it was fascinating to see how these masters of cookery sought out the most naturally grown products for the table, one of them horrified me by using as his prime ingredient MSG. That additive which I know, I know, has a natural origin, disagrees with me in a rather violent manner. Most people I know also do not get along in various degrees with that item. Witnessing this chef's defense of MSG, I lost my trust in the whole thing. He touted it as a "flavour enhancer". So is sugar and salt and smoke and aspartame but it doesn't make them good for our general well-being. When, oh when, are we going to stop using a long list of additives to our foods. First, we don't know the generational effects of them since they are relatively newish and second, what's wrong with fresh from local markets as flavour? This country is going to be, and in some ways, already is, the "food basket of the world". Our climate with global warming (there is such a thing if you'd care to check rising temperatures on earth) gives us a front row counter top for offering the world the generosity of our land, a future food garden. Those working have no excuse for using stuff glopped out of a cardboard box or plastic container and calling it "dinner". They pass by markets on the way home from work, and on the weekends what is better than a family trip to the neighbourhood farmer's market just down the street? There is also opportunity for apartment dwellers and condo mondos to grow pots of certain herbs and greens right on their balconies and patios. No excuses such as "no time; I work". The relaxation therapy of watching basil or parsley or chives grow right before your eyes is worth a lot of valium or beer. Watering and watching growing things gets you back to your own roots as well as feeding yourself in the most rewarding ways possible. We don't need MSG when there's the flavour of FRESH around.