When Pigs Fly - Consider a Local Veggie
By John Burns
The pig has flown, hell froze over (it’s in the low 30’s on this Mardi Gras morning), and now it’s time for Lent. Beginning on Ash Wednesday, and concluding at the Ninth Hour of Holy Thursday, it’s a time when many of the WHO DAT Nation will prepare for Easter by altering their lifestyle and diet. Many will give up meat on Fridays and crowd the markets and restaurants in search of local veggies, spices, and seafood.
Food is persuasive here and often guides many of our local traditions, customs, and the cultural norms which define us. We may have shown the world how New Orleans can rebound from tragedy, win a Super Bowl, and pull off the biggest free party on Earth, but many outside the city never see a post Mardi Gras day when we continue the season with reflection and the resolve that maintains our traditional way of life. I often explain to visitors that New Orleans may look like a big party - but it’s really a celebration with purpose and meaning. Don’t believe it? Just ask anyone here if the New Orleans Saints mean more to them than just a professional football team.
After the biggest celebration we have ever had in our city (maybe winning the Battle of New Orleans was similar), many of us will enter into the Lenten season and enact our semi-fast tradition. Fasting during this season may have originated for very practical and agrarian reasons. During the time of subsistence agriculture in the West, food that was stored in the previous autumn was in very short supply, or had been used quickly to prevent spoilage, at this time. Not much food left in the cupboard? Might as well fast and conserve what you have. That idea is similar to the spring period that British gardeners call the “Hungry Gap.” For others, the semi-fast has very deep religious and spiritual meanings. Today, thanks to modern farming techniques, food is plentiful and its scarcity is not a driver for local fasting. Our modern society is defined by an abundance of food filled with sugars and fat, so semi-fasting can be very practical and beneficial from a nutritional perspective.
Given the variety of food available during this time of year in south Louisiana, there could not be a better time to replace some of our total food intake with local fruits and vegetables. We are blessed with not only a great football team this season, but one filled with oranges, satsumas, lemons, grapefruit, lettuces, kale, mustard greens, chard, collard greens, strawberries, turnips, radishes, mushrooms, rice, and an abundance of seafood. Giving up meat is not a bad thing to do for short periods, but including pastured beef, pork, goat, lamb and local free range chicken is also important in our diets and for the sustainability of our farming traditions and traditional Cajun and Creole inspired recipes.
The pig did fly – no doubt about it! Now it’s time to think about personal growth, our customs and beliefs, and the future of our city. It may sound simple, but a few more veggies on your plate might make a great substitute for a while until the pig flies back into town next season.
