all the cool kids are doing it

I finished The Omnivore's Dilemma over a week ago, and ever since then have been so freaked out/confused by food, I must comfort myself by eating lots of it.

One of the most disappointing things I learned from this book was not about the production of beef in this country (horrifying, but other than the incident with That Burger, I really don't eat beef) or the fact that corn is in everything (the diabolical, political aspect is disturbing, but other than that incident where I opened my cupboard, I don't eat many processed foods), but about "industrial organic" (the GAZILLIONS of dollars I spent at Whole Foods when we lived in DC was not necessarily money well spent!).

Now that I'm in Vermont I have lots of local options for eggs and butter and, during the two summer months, vegetables, but one thing I didn't know how to replace was canned tomatoes (apparently Muir Glen, whose fire-roasted tomatoes are a central ingredient in one of my favorite soups, is owned by General Mills), which I eat a lot of in the winter.

When I mentioned this in front of my native Oklahoman, ham-loaf-makin', cussin' mother-in-law, she said, "Well, why don't we can our own?" And why not, really? Er, because it seems sort of messy. And also, botulism? But my concerns were put to rest, and we're planning a canning session at the end of the summer.

Which I thought made us old fashioned, but it turns out that, like knitting and sewing and all that other crafty crap I can't do, canning is making a comeback. My mother-in-law is so HIP. Which anyone who's met her already knew.