For this week’s tasting lab, Linsey and Doug made us a delicious lunch of southern cornbread and dressed local greens.

Doug provided the salad, which included arugula, lettuce, kale, and bitters of dandelion and mustard greens – all local, and all in season right now. As we ate the tasty green salad dressed in balsamic vinaigrette we discussed what it meant to be a locavore. What are the staples that we eat that would be considered an exotic luxury in a truly local agriculture? We are all advocates, but we all drink coffee, eat pineapple and bananas, chocolate and avocados.

I thought to myself, what am I eating later tonight? Is it local – I had just bought the ingredients to make myself tabbouleh salad. Lemon. Lime. Olive oil. Tomatoes. All of these things either not local, or not in season. Even the foods that we don’t consider tropical often contribute to a globalized food system. What would I have to sacrifice to truly eat locally and seasonally? How would it affect my bodily health?

Linsey made us cornbread. As she explained the ingredients and history of her mother’s cornbread with animation, it was clear she had made it with love and with the intention of sharing something intimate about herself. It reminded me of when I made bagels for the class Winter Quarter – just as mentioned by Petrini, although food sustains us and our physical health, often through the cultural significance and tradition, food gives us more than that. We are able to understand and connect with communities of people at their best, and most loving and vulnerable.
As I finished my meal I couldn’t help but excitedly anticipate learning about my classmates through their food.