Eating With the Seasons

You may have been hearing terms like slow food , locally grown and ethical eating a lot lately and may wonder exactly what they mean. I began to understand them after reading Barbara Kingsolver’s wonderful Animal Vegetable Miracle, A Year of Food Life. Her family moved to a farm deciding to eat and drink only what they or their neighbors could produce – for an entire year. With subtle humor, an unpreachy style, beautiful prose and fascinating research, she describes the experiment.

According to Kingsolver “the average food item on a U.S. grocery shelf has travelled farther than most families go on their annual vacations. True fact.” Personally, I had never thought of the environmental impact my love of Costco fruits and vegetables available in quantity all year round could have. I have even more incentive to plant a vegetable garden and hope for better weather than last summer.

We have chosen some wonderful books from our collection for display on the 2^nd floor. Look there for more books on the slow food movement, vegetable gardening, canning and preserving and lots of beautiful cookbooks for seasonal eating and serving up the harvest – whether it is from your own garden or one of the great local farmer’s markets coming soon. The Zionsville Farmer's Market starts June 4th on the corners of Main and Hawthorne Streets.

Also, please consider attending the Friends of the Library meeting on Wednesday May 18^th at 10 am to learn more about becoming a Friend of the Library and hear a presentation by Amy Rhodes of the Traders Point Creamery .