Perspective

Once you have grown your own food, groceries take on a whole new category of appreciation.

Everyone talks about how homegrown tomatoes taste so much better than store-bought, which they do, but it’s more than that. Moving to an apartment and still living under the threat of Covid, a recent grocery delivery showed me just how much my perspective on food has changed, being a gardener.

Homegrown cilantro (Kate Russell)

A handful of fresh cilantro, previously harvested from the yard without a thought, now comes in a plastic case. Black spots on some of the leaves told me the farmer had problems with fungal diseases this summer. I wondered how they dealt with it and if it was devastating to their crop and their family. That led me to wonder where my cilantro was grown – the package didn’t say. I imagined all the other people involved with this small handful of herbs. Who planted and harvested them? Who trimmed and washed them and put them into their plastic cases? Who loaded the box onto a truck? Somebody drove that truck. And someone unloaded it. Who put together my grocery order? And then finally, there was Tyler, my delivery person.

So many people and steps were involved with something that used to grow freely in my yard. This is true of every food we eat that we do not grow at home. And I am grateful to all those people.

Have I planted cilantro seeds in a pot on my balcony? I have. But that isn’t always an option.

I cut open the last Valencia orange from my California home to use while cooking some black beans a couple of nights ago. I had to take a bite. It was so sweet and delicious! It made me a little sad to have left so much behind. Will a store-bought orange ever taste so good? It will certainly never be as fresh.

Can I grow oranges in my Seattle apartment? I don’t know yet. But I will find out. And I will love being closer to my children and grandchildren as I learn.