waiting for asparagus 39our search for a new way to eat. It had felt arbitrary when we sat around
the table with our shopping list, making our rules. It felt almost silly to us,
in fact, as it may now seem to you. Why impose restrictions on ourselves?
Who cares?
The fact is, though, millions of families have food pledges hanging
over their kitchens—subtle rules about going to extra trouble, cutting the
pasta by hand, rolling the sushi, making with care instead of buying on
the cheap. Though they also may be busy with jobs and modern life, peo-
ple the world over still take time to follow foodways that bring their fami-
lies happiness and health. My family happens to live in a country where
the main foodway has a yellow line painted down the middle. If we needed
rules we’d have to make our own, going on faith that it might bring us
something worthwhile.
On Saturday morning at the market as we ducked into the wind and
started back toward our car, I clutched my bags with a heady sense of ac-
complishment. We’d found a lot more than we’d hoped for. We chatted a
little more with our farmer friends who were closing up shop behind us,
ready to head home too. Back to warm kitchens, keeping our fi ngers
crossed in dogwood winter for the fruits of the coming year.