Affordable Organic...learn how to cook!

Buying good, local foods only benefits your family if someone in the house knows what to do with them.  Simple, but true.  A beautiful bunch of fresh picked kale is only going to go to waste if you don't know how to cook  it.  Same with kohlrabi...kohl-whaty?  Simply peeled and sliced onto a fresh salad in early summer, it is so delicious.  Sitting on the counter uneaten?  A alien-looking waste.
My biggest problem with our society today is a lack of stay-at-home mothers.  And before you career women get offended by that statement, please remember that I am actually ONE OF YOU!  I am a full time working mother, proud that I can support my family during the economic downturn, but also quite bitter about the fact that our society doesn't recognize stay at home mothers for their hard work and benefit to their family.  If you have even tried to stay at home to raise a family, you know how challenging it can be.  But, many women, either by choice, or by necessity, are spending more and more time away from home at work.  I support a woman's right to choose.  I support women who want to work.  I support women who must work to keep food on the table and clothes in the closets.  And I support women who are successful in their careers.  But, I don't think women should be made to feel that they have to work to be respected.  It often takes someone at home to reach amazing goals.  A quote from Shannon Hayes, found on www.chelseagreen.com echoes how I am feeling about the local food movement and having someone in the home full time:
"A family does not need to earn a lot of money to eat local, sustainable, grassfed foods.  But someone in the family does need to have the domestic skills to be able to procure, process and prepare them affordably.  And someone in the family needs to be at home to get this work done."
Don't misunderstand me, I think some men are doing fantastic jobs staying at home and doing a great majority of the cleaning, cooking, and planning.  But, generally speaking, it is typically the woman in the family that has any sort of interest in cooking, sewing, and doing the "homemaker" sort of tasks.  (I also know many women who despise these things, and I respect their talents and do not turn my nose up at their disinterest in all things homey.)  The truth of the matter here, though, is that while is it entirely possible to turn to the local, organic food movement without spending a lot of money, you must have someone in the home who either has or is willing to obtain the skills needed to turn purchases into usable, or edible products.  
I have to admit, that I have always been a crafty momma.  I love to sew, love to knit, love to cook.  And for those who followed me in the years past, know that my garden is treated as well as my children in the summer!  I am always learning, though, and follow many other men and women as they write about their journeys through the food movement.  I can learn from their mistakes, and bask in the glory of their successes as they do.  And I share the same with them.  
So, if you really want to know how to join the simple life, you must educate yourself.  Learn a new skill.  Find a farmer who will let you work with them in the field, if only for a few hours one afternoon.  Borrow as many cookbooks from the library as you can check out.  Follow a blog or two.  Ask someone you know (yes, me!) for help.
Treat it like a class...study with motivation that you are doing something worthwhile that will last a lifetime for your family.  You don't have to start BIG...remember, I have been wandering the road less traveled for several years now, and I started with one simple change.  But, you can only start the ball rolling if you give it a little shove.  
So, how do I do it?  Balance working full time with also trying to be a full time wife, mommy, and sustainable life promoter?   It's not always easy.  I do the best I can.  I try not to beat myself up if my family has to eat a frozen meal one night while I am at work.  But, I try to balance that out with doing everything I can on the days that I am home and able to work toward my goals.  I try to take one day at a time.  If I know that carrots are ready to harvest soon, I start to look up ideas for the best ways to serve them without having the same old steamed side dish every night.  If I see a great sale on flannel at the store, I go in and find a pattern for simple pajama pants and take my time learning how to put them together.  Know that you will be spending a lot of time outdoors in the winter?  Learn how to knit yourself a scarf!  
I have to admit that even though the balancing act is exhausting right now, I know that it will all be worthwhile.  I love that my kids know where food originally comes from (and it's not the supermarket!).  I love that when they want new curtains, a new coat for their doll, or a blanket to decorate the couch, they ask if we can sew it.  I love that a new scarf means getting out the knitting needles (and as a sidenote...Kira is already learning to knit!).  I love that when they want a snack they want an apple from the orchard store.  
So, if you are hoping to gain something from the movement back toward the simple life, you may have to discover hidden talents, or develop new ones that you never had.  Need some help?  Find a mentor (you know where to find me!), read a book, use the tools of technology to reach your goals.  Just don't take the first step without some guidance.  Start small, but think big!   And don't go quitting your jobs to do it!  Just re-allot some of your time.  Instead of playdates at the indoor gym,  ask a local farm if you can have a tour or head to a farmer's market for a day of sights and tastes galore!  Rethink the way you plan your time and turn everyday things into an adventure.  If I can do it, so can you!