The beginning of August was marked by the celebration of Lammas, at least amongst those of us who celebrate it. Lammas, or Lughnasadh, celebrates the first harvest of the summer. It's considered a fire festival because of the time of the year it's held, but thanks to the intense, humid weather, most people I know who observe it try to generate as little heat as possible.
Lammas is the corn festival. People who celebrate it make meals where grains dominate the menu, and little to no meat/protein is eaten. The idea is to celebrate the foods that are harvested at this time, so that means corn, wheat, rice, potatos, barley.
This year, that got me thinking.
Grain is some of the easiest food in the world to store and keep. Mass grain storage gave humans an excuse to form the first cities. It works well both as a sweet and a savoury, and is the considered the staple food in one form or another around the world.
If you need to eat in transit and you're in a hurry, what do you pick up? The easiest things to get are all grain-based: pastries, muffins, sandwiches. Portable food means grains.
Most places take advantage of grain's long shelf life, and offer prepackaged stuff that may have been made days before it got to the shop, waiting for you to squint at it and try to figure out which cellophane-wrapped bundle is the lesser evil.
It's not just monotonous. It sucks. And you deserve better.
We haven't had rationing on this continent for over sixty years. We need to stop acting like it's okay if that's all we can get.
Lammas is the corn festival. People who celebrate it make meals where grains dominate the menu, and little to no meat/protein is eaten. The idea is to celebrate the foods that are harvested at this time, so that means corn, wheat, rice, potatos, barley.
This year, that got me thinking.
Grain is some of the easiest food in the world to store and keep. Mass grain storage gave humans an excuse to form the first cities. It works well both as a sweet and a savoury, and is the considered the staple food in one form or another around the world.
If you need to eat in transit and you're in a hurry, what do you pick up? The easiest things to get are all grain-based: pastries, muffins, sandwiches. Portable food means grains.
Most places take advantage of grain's long shelf life, and offer prepackaged stuff that may have been made days before it got to the shop, waiting for you to squint at it and try to figure out which cellophane-wrapped bundle is the lesser evil.
It's not just monotonous. It sucks. And you deserve better.
We haven't had rationing on this continent for over sixty years. We need to stop acting like it's okay if that's all we can get.