stand on more legs (and fins and wings and roots…)

Yesterday, Sunday, I cooked a rabbit. Rabbit is not in our weekly cooking rotation (quite upsettingly, price is a factor here, but that’s another story), but it is something I’ll pull out for weekend action from time to time. As some of you may remember, I’m quite an admirer of all things Basque, food in particular. I had laid in a bottle of Txakoli, and I still have the better part of a case of the exceedingly rare RED Txakoli made from 100 year-old Hondarribi Beltza (red Hondarribi) vines that I specially ordered for myself some months ago. So with these two wines as my guide to plan our dinner, I began poking through the pantry, the fridge, a pile of books, and then put in a half hour or so in front of the computer. So after a little back and forth with myself, I decided on a bonito tuna (line caught) salad with piquillo peppers, scallions, and thyme over Boston lettuce dressed with a sherry vinegar vinaigrette. The main course, as previously stated, was rabbit stewed in a walnut and chocolate sauce (apparently a very old recipe from Alava province). And, just to be cheeky, I served smothered carrots on the side. These are the details - now to the point…

Now I’m sure that very few of you give a toss about what I eat for dinner, but strangely, I care about what you eat…hmm… Without wasting any more of your time, my point here is, in two words, COMESTIBLE DIVERSIFICATION. Though this idea might be controversial amongst the hardcore vegetarian and vegen set, I’ve both heard and read that the lightest “footprint” that one can leave on Mother Nature is to eat EVERYTHING ORGANIC, and to me that makes good sense. Let me clarify this idea - the emphasis is on both words here. The “organic” part is fairly cut and dried. The “everything” part however is just as important, but perhaps not as self-explanatory. By “everything” we mean just that - things that fly, swim, slither, run, hop, AND grow from trees, shrubs, vines, plants, roots, even from under the sea - EVERYTHING!

The rule or philosophy in play here can be analogized to a heavy object, and how that object stands itself upright. If this object has only one leg, that one leg would HAVE TO be a spike that penetrated deeply into the earth to allow this object to stand. This analogy could be said to represent an olde schoole “beef and potatoes” uncle for example - you know, the guy who thinks that chicken is for sissies, lamb is for foreigners, and vegetables for rabbits. Now take the same “heavy object” analogy to the other extreme…support this same object with many different “legs” (read “foods”) - not only beef, but pork, chicken, lamb, goat, rabbit, frogs, fish, duck, pheasant, squid, octopus, snails, as well as every which kind of green, pulse, legume, fruit, and tuber etc., etc. When you support this “weight” with eighteen legs rather than one, each leg “penetrates” (read “damages”) MUCH less deeply into the earth, AND affords the eater with that many more different and interesting and tasty things to eat! Think about it a little more - goats like one type of terrain, food, etc., cattle another, and geese yet another. Potatoes can be grown in harsh, cold climates, while guavas need lots of heat and rain. If we eat EVERYTHING, we create the need for eighteen different farms (not just one), AND if all of these farms are organic, whatever damage is done from land clearing is notably reduced.

In the end we all eat what we like to eat, but when given a chance to try something new - animal, vegetable, or even mineral - give it a try - the land (and health) you save may be your own.

TOM CIOCCO