There are 10 types of people in the world
Feed the soil, not the plants
Hey there, friend!
Good to see you again.
I’ve been visiting friends and family back at home after several months away, and it’s endearing to see how their gardens have evolved during the pandemic. The word that repeatedly came to mind was “permaculture”, since the labour and nutrition you give the land ultimately come back to you in the form of diversity, health and beauty — and with well-being as a result.
Well-being is also at the center of the Slow Food philosophy. According to their manifesto, food should be Good (as in delicious and nutritious), Clean (respecting the natural laws of the ecosystems) and Fair (with the producers involved receiving a fair payment for their work). Buona, pulita e giusta. It’s as simple as far-reaching and revolutionary.
Every two years they also bring together producers from all corners of the globe for a gathering of ideas, techniques and amazing food called Terra Madre. I had the pleasure of working there for two editions in a row, and feed from the wonderful guests and their produce.
A good friend pointed me to a BBC podcast in which the Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini says the main ingredient for great cooking is curiosity. Remarkable considering how much thinking and (delicious) eating he has embarked upon in his 72 years of existence.
But this makes sense. In order to excel in any activity one needs to know the moving parts at a deep level. Research into them, get to know the fundamental details. In the case of food this means understanding what's being cooked, and how it came into existence. How was that cardo gobbo from Nizza planted, and why? What's the best time to harvest it and how to better prepare it? Do you boil it, steam it, or slowly simmer it? It entails visiting and getting to know the populations that traditionally cook that ingredient or dish, and effectively take in the cultural aspects that dictate whether pasta is al dente or fully cooked ( 🇮🇹 vs 🇵🇹 now there's a quarter-final to keep an eye on!).
If, like me, you keep coming back to podcasts you should know that you can create your own podcast feed out of any random audio file on the internet. Think of Huffduffer as a “listen to later” tool for the web. Stumbled upon a Sun Ra talk on “Afrofuturism” but don’t have the time right now to dive in? Hit the “Huffduff It“ button and stash the file on your personal feed for later enjoyment. You can add the bookmarklet located in the website’s footer to the bookmarks bar on your browser. Here’s mine:
This is my feed, in case you want to follow my online audio scavenging.
Talk soon!
Fred
PS: As Three Things to Know hits the delicious milestone of ten uninterrupted issues, here’s a pearl called Ten. Savour slowly.