Slow Food/Fast Food

About author / Sarah Christine Bolton

Coffee addict; professional food writer; food fusion. Her slow cooker recipes go above and beyond your normal crockpot fare.

The other night, as I was eating my dinner that consisted of a can of soup and a beer, I had the thought that I had lost touch with real food. I eat food every day, but real food? It’s not often that I feel like I’ve eaten real food, food that’s been cooked and thought through and even presented a bit.

I, like the majority of Americans, am overbooked, lacking sleep, and just generally overwhelmed by life. As a result, food and cooking often take a backseat to life.

Not always. My husband and I try, at least once a week, to plan a really nice meal. We will cook together, serve it on plates, clear the dining room table of bills and magazines, and sit down to a real meal. Sometimes, I’ll walk with a co-worker to a little downtown restaurant to order a sit-down, not eaten-in-front-of-my-computer-on-the-phone, lunch. With one particular co-worker, getting lost on the way to lunch is a part of the whole process. I really appreciate a “real” meal after hiking up and down city blocks in two-inch heels.

I was sitting at a coffee shop the other night, enjoying the fact that I didn’t have my computer and work with me, and I looked across the street at the Wendy’s. Their signage screamed: “Open until 1:00 a.m. Get Fresh, Late.” It reminded me of some of my (rare) college party nights. I’ve been the designated driver on a few late night fast food runs. Somehow, I was always the one who didn’t drink enough to be considered unable to drive.

So, I would pull up to the fast food drive-through window with a car full of obnoxious drunk people, and order fries and burgers and chicken tenders, with sauces and bacon and cheese. I used to stress about getting everything just right. Then, I wised up and realized that no one had the mental ability to know the difference at that point.

Since then, I’m more likely to have people over for a somewhat civilized dinner than drive through Mickey D’s at 2:00 a.m. My crockpot has helped make the whole real food experience easier. I can cook a good meal without all the hard work and time of cooking a meal.

There is a very cool non-profit organization called Slow Food that was founded in 1989 to counteract fast food and the rat race we call life. The organization seeks to bring back local food traditions and renew people’s interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes, and how food choices affect the rest of the world. Their website is pretty cool. Check it out at www.slowfood.com

Spring and summer are here. The farmer’s markets here in Memphis are up and running, and local farmers are bringing their fresh produce right to my fingertips. In the spirit of the “slow food” movement, I’m determined to take advantage of the farmer’s markets this year. It is a great time of year to really explore the local produce that your region offers, and incorporate as much fresh, local food as you can into your crockpot meals. And the great thing about buying fresh vegetables is that they always inspire me to cook a real food meal. Believe me, when you do, it’s marvelous. It’s worth sitting down for. It’s worth taking the time. Don’t worry. Wendy’s will always be open late.