Good Food For All
food x public health + what to cook in mid-spring
Allô! 👋
Welcome to mid-spring (well, technically, the day itself is May 5th — nearly there!), a wonderful time of year to seek out and enjoy good food.
If you're reading this newsletter, you likely know by now that I am incredibly passionate about good food. What you are perhaps less likely to know, is that by “good food”, I don't just mean food that tastes good, looks good, or makes you feel good.
To me, good food is also food that is good for people and for planet. For human health and environmental wealth. Good food is fair food too — it is accessible to all* and helps to nourish and sustain everyone across society equitably. It supports the livelihoods and the wellbeing of those who work hard to grow it and get it to us. It brings a sense of purpose, meaning, and joy to those with the knowledge and skills to prepare and share it with us. It gathers neighbours and connects strangers, brings us closer to our cultures and to nature. It makes us feel at home — in our bodies, in our communities, and on our planet. If we look after it, it'll look after us. And if we don't, it won't.
These are things I think about a lot, and read a lot about (in fact, I have a terrible habit of reading multiple books at the same time; normally it is a mix of genres, but at the moment I am consuming an updated edition of Diet for A Small Planet, digesting a re-read of Food Politics, and devouring Hooked all at once ...which perhaps explains why I am currently chewing on global issues of food and health at a somewhat higher rate than I usually do). But much like tucking into good food, dining on thought-provoking information can often be a whole lot more enjoyable if shared and exchanged with others. So more on that later.
As the season progresses, I'm also thinking a lot about which foods will soon be showing up in grocery stores and at the market. Spring harvests tend to be timid, occasionally not lasting more than a couple of weeks at a time (hello asparagus!), so one really needs to seize the moment and make the most of the season. It's a good exercise in embracing the present moment — and a good reminder of the importance of living in the here and the now. It can be all too easy to dwell on issues of the past, get stuck in diversions that distract us from the present, or become caught up worrying about the future. Doing those things can be useful in small doses but, at the end of the day (as with everything), balance and moderation are key. Most of the time, it really is best to just be present, and appreciate (if not enjoy and revel in!) the moment we're in.
In this month's newsletter, you'll find a small guide to the season's produce, as well as some recommended reading and listening — plus some suggested recipes for mid-spring, whatever your mid-spring may look like. I truly hope you'll relish the read!
Wishing you good food, good mood, and a sense of all being renewed ('tis the season, after all)!
👋simone
*this isn't just my opinion, by the way, it's a recognised Human Right, capital H! capital R!
it's mid-spring!
what to shop, harvest & forage for
🌱
At the start of your local spring, things might not be looking too spring-y around you — if anything, the leeks, carrots, and turnips on offer all scream “been there, done that”. But take a closer peek (or, dare I say, a closer sniff), and you'll soon find that new and exciting things are on their way.
Having spent a few springs in different parts of the world, I know first-hand that your spring is unlikely to look like mine, and vice versa — even if we happen to be living in the same country. Growing zones, plant hardiness areas, and frost dates vary widely from area to area and region to region, let alone nation to nation. These depend on local microclimates as well as soil types and day lengths (influenced by latitude, but also altitude — mountains tend to get colder the higher you go, and valleys may get more shade but less wind than wide open plains, and so on and so forth. Growing food is hard! Just ask a local food grower).
All this to say: try not to get too disappointed if you see other people online posting about “spring” meals that look nothing like yours. One day your rhubarb and asparagus will come (it may have have already gone!).
My best tip is to support local growers and grocers, and to buy what is at its best where and when you are. More often than not, shopping this way leads to better taste, less waste, and healthier practices and outcomes at every level of the food system.
Here are some things you may be able to look forward to in the coming month (if you haven't been enjoying them already)!
•••
ALL THE GREEN THINGS
Artichokes
Arugula
Asparagus
Avocados
Cardoons
Chives
Cime di rapa (AKA Rapini or Broccoli Rabe)
Coriander
Cress
Fava beans / Broad beans
Fiddleheads
Green garlic
Green onions
Lamb's quarters
Little Gem lettuce
Mint
Monk's beard
Nettles
Peas
Pea shoots
Purslane
Ramps or Wild garlic
Sage
Spinach
Sprouts of all kinds
Tarragon
Watercress
shopping seasonally at markets can sometimes be confusing, as produce importers will often have stalls right next to local smallholders' — if in doubt, ask!
SOME PINK (& PURPLE) THINGS
Purple artichokes
Beets
Pink-stemmed chard
Radishes
Red Little Gem lettuce
Red spring onions
Rhubarb
Sorrel
Strawberries
Turnips
when I think strawberries, I think June — but in some places the early varieties are indeed ready to harvest as early as April!
A FEW WHITE(ISH) THINGS
(White) Asparagus
(White-stemmed) Chard
Morels
New garlic
New onions
New potatoes
(White) Strawberries
•••
If you're unsure as to what is in season near you, don't hesitate to ask! At your local market if it has opened for the season, at your local grocer's, food co-op, CSA pick-up spot, or community garden. You might even be able to ask that nice neighbour with the overabundant garden (lucky you). If you don't have access to these, all hope is not lost: you can be the first step in making a change. Talk to others around you, they may be longing for better access to local food too! In the meantime, the internet is your friend: search for what's in season in your area and look for nearby food growers to follow on social media — you won't know until you look, and good food might very well be right around the corner.
good food for all
(why I do what I do)
🍲
Why am I so obsessed with seasonality? With minimally processed foods? With local food traditions? Plant-forward diets? Organic and regenerative agriculture? Slow dining? With an approach to cooking that focuses on low waste and high taste? With sharing meals and exchanging ideas, emotions and stories over a nicely set table?
So many reasons. For me, it all started with seeing loved ones and relatives burdened by common diseases I thought were inevitable as a kid (how many of us have heard “heart disease and diabetes just runs in the family?”) only to grow up and find out that they were actually quite preventable. The injustice of it all made me want to be a part of solving the problem, and eventually led me to study public health. Still, at the end of the day, it always seemed to come back to food.
Everyone loves good food. Defining what's good can of course be cause for disagreement — I'm not a big fan of strong mustards, mature cheeses, or even the mildest of goat meats, but I know that this is a result of personal taste. My penchant for maple syrup on bacon and for raisins-instead-of-chocolate in cookies and buns surely aren't universal either.
But food that supports our health, our community, our economy, and our planet, that honours our cultures and traditions while adopting our modern values and ethics — all while also tasting delicious! — I think that's food we can all agree is good (for all). There is such a thing as universally-recognised good food, after all (see the asterisk * in the intro!).
The tragedy is that not everyone has access to it. The upside is that we can all do something about it.
To be honest, I could probably fill a book with my thoughts on the matter. For things to change we need governments to enforce better policies and regulations, we need to build healthier food environments and we need to design more resilient food systems, all of which can be slow and difficult to achieve.
But we also need to start at home, at work and in schools, in our neighbourhoods, within local businesses and public institutions alike, in hospitals and prisons too — these things may still be challenging, but they can be achieved a lot more quickly and easily. Everybody eats, and every meal is an opportunity for change. That's why I place so much emphasis on the day-to-day aspects of eating well.
I could go on and on, but then we'd be at it for days, and I'd truly hate to bore you. I'd much rather feed you! Instead, if you're interested in these topics (and I realise that many of you may very well not be), I invite you to check out this page that I spend far too much time updating.
And for now, let me just say: do listen to Michael Pollan's advice, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants”. And do feel free to check out the ever-growing resource list that eats up all my time too.
recipes from the site
+ some ideas from instagram
🌼
a very versatile asparagus quiche recipe
When it comes to asparagus, you’ve just got to seize the season and eat as much as you can before they’re gone again. At least, that’s my philosophy.
darling, you look radishing ✨
Few things are better than fresh radishes, served thinly sliced on good bread with quality butter! Little pink radishes also pair wonderfully with a fresh squeeze of lemon and a hearty dunk in some just-made hummus.
cardamom & orange rhubarb cake
So you got some fresh stalks of rhubarb and some yoghurt. Now what? Bake a cardamom-spiced and orange-scented rhubarb cake, of course!
sweetheart, you're a gem 💎
Little Gem lettuce is a favourite in my house. Maybe because it feels like a good salad for people who (think they) don't like salad? Whatever the reason, 'tis the season — to celebrate and savour these little lettuces in all their shapes and colours!
caramelized onion pie
Sometimes you want to make something that's comforting and fuss-free, with just a little extra hint of luxury. Enter the caramelized onion pie.
dearest, I'm just wild about you 💫
If you're not sure what to do with wild garlic, just think of it as fresh spinach leaves with a punchy (allium) attitude — you can make omelettes with it, throw it into sauces and stews, even pop it into gnocchi as above. It's not around fresh for very long, so do consider freezing it, making pesto from it, or dehydrating it into a wild garlic salt if you'd like to preserve the moment and extend your enjoyment!
the public health corner:
one article, one podcast, one book
🧠
I shared in my Instagram stories this month that I'd be posting “public health and food”-related news there every now and then, seeing as redressing global public health nutrition issues is my main driving force, so I figured why not expand that to the newsletter as well. After all, knowledge is power, and when it comes to changing our food systems, power is everything.
So, here goes, one article, one podcast episode, and one book to keep your mind well-fed (and to hopefully trigger a hunger for more)!
ONE ARTICLE
At any age, a healthy diet can extend your life (Washington Post)
ONE PODCAST EPISODE
Claire Pettinger, PhD, RD — Environmentally Sustainable Diets & Food Access (Sigma Nutrition)
ONE BOOK
Ultra-Processed People, Chris Van Tulleken (Cornerstone Press)
P.S. I had a hard time just picking one of each, but in case you're interested, there's plenty more where that came from!
That's all from me this month! See you next time 💛
This was a Substack edit of an archived newsletter. To read the newsletter in its original format, click here.