The farmer’s market this weekend in late March of 2020 was disorienting, and not only because I was wearing a mask and gloves. It was hard to see which line of widely spaced people was snaking into which farmer’s stand, and many vendors had hung tarps and were helping customers through windows. But everyone was as community-spirited as usual, and many of us were uncharacteristically patient.
Yet again, I was beyond grateful for both the opportunity and the means to fill my fridge with fresh green vegetables, including kale. And I was way more excited than usual to find a bunch of kale that had started to elongate its stem and flower because I knew I could use it in another video in our special COVID-19 series of dispatches from our kitchens.
Here’s hoping you stay in good health and good spirits.
It’s the spring of 2020, and like millions of others, we Botanists in the Kitchen are sheltering at home, trying to help flatten the curve. But if you are a plant person (or know any) you know that no matter where we are, and how bad the news is, we must have an outlet for botanizing. This blog has always been about helping people connect to plants, especially plants that might just be sitting in their refrigerators or cabinets. These days those connections feel more important than ever.
For the next few months, we are trying something new and inviting you into our kitchens and our nerdy botanical way of looking at the world. We sincerely hope that you can join us in good health and upbeat spirits.
Welcome to another installment of our new special feature: a series of videos and posts that bring you into our kitchens as we join millions of people sheltering in place. So far, my local farmers market is open for business and local farmers are continuing to bring fresh food to our community, at some real risk to themselves. So so many of us are grateful.
I was lucky enough last week to pick up some gorgeous giant artichokes to prepare for Saturday night, which presented the opportunity for a virtual botany lab. Wherever you are sheltering, I hope that you are able to find some for yourself. Artichokes are full of antioxidants, specifically polyphenols, that have generally health-promoting effects. They are also rich in dietary fiber, which is a good thing if you have spent too much time on the sofa lately. And if you eat them with melted butter or olive oil, well, that can’t hurt your mood, now can it?
This video was only lightly edited and entirely unscripted, so please be patient with the pace and the occasional interruption by Caltrain.
It’s the spring of 2020, and like millions of others, we Botanists in the Kitchen are sheltering at home, trying to help flatten the curve. In other words, we are stuck in the kitchen. However, neither of us is complaining right now. Personally, I (Katherine) feel secure in my home, and I am (for now) healthy. I have access to fresh and nutritious food (thank you small-holder farmers), and at the end of the day I can go for a long run along a lovely creek lined with trees and birds. Both are opportunities to connect with plants, and this blog has always been about helping people connect to plants that might just be sitting in their refrigerators.
Like many other educators, I have also been preparing to teach a spring quarter botany course, from my sofa, through a laptop. In rethinking what is essential to the class and what might be necessary for my students in this moment, I decided to assign a new reading. It’s a 2015 study by some Stanford colleagues who found, basically, that a walk through a natural green space reduced anxiety compared to a similar walk through an urban area. Maybe that’s not surprising, but they also investigated potential mechanisms by measuring the way people’s brain activity differed in the two situations. Their data suggest that an immersive experience in “nature” (with plants) reduces the kind of unproductive rumination that feeds anxiety. Nobody has done the same experiment comparing our anxiety levels after scrolling through social media or after carefully preparing broccoli and marveling at the fractal arrangement of its unopened flower buds. I do have a prediction, though. Under the current conditions, maybe it’s time to move into the kitchen and see what’s in the fridge.
P.S. If you are food-secure and financially able at this time, please consider giving to your local food bank. Everyone should have nutritious fresh food for body and mind.
The Botanist in the Kitchen 