Food Poem Fridays: Erica Jong's FIGS

Figs

by Erica Jong

Italians know
how to call a fig
a fig: fica.
Mandolin-shaped fruit,
feminine as seeds,
amber or green
and bearing large leaves
to clothe our nakedness.

I believe it was
not an apple but a fig
Lucifer gave Eve,
knowing she would find
a fellow feeling
in this female fruit

and knowing also
that Adam would
lose himself
in the fig's fertile heart
whatever the price—

God's wrath, expulsion
angry angels
pointing with swords
to a world of woe.

One bite into
a ripe fig
is worth worlds
and worlds and worlds
beyond the green
of Eden.

Maximizing Your Budget for Organic Produce

This house buys organic, but it can be more expensive than conventional produce. Fruits and vegetables that are grown conventionally absorb different levels of pesticides based on how tough an outer layer they have. You can get away with buying conventional pineapple, for instance, save a little money, and still not be exposed to too many chemicals in the fruit.

To help consumers, the Environmental Working Group has put out information on which fruits and vegetables absorb the highest, and lowest, amounts of chemical residue.

Choose organic when it comes to these fruits and vegetables:
Celery
Peaches
Strawberries
Apples
Domestic blueberries
Nectarines
Sweet bell peppers
Spinach, kale and collard greens
Cherries
Potatoes
Imported grapes
Lettuce

For these fruits and vegetables, even if you buy conventional, you won't get too much chemical residue because they have a tougher outer layer:

Onions
Avocados
Sweet corn
Pineapples
Mango
Sweet peas
Asparagus
Kiwi fruit
Cabbage
Eggplant
Cantaloupe
Watermelon
Grapefruit
Sweet potatoes
Sweet onions

The President's Cancer Panel recommendeds eating produce without pesticides. There is a proven association between pesticides and health problems such as cancer, attention-deficit (hyperactivity) disorder and nervous system disorders; pesticides can also weaken immune systems and harm the developing brain.

Food Poem Fridays: Naomi Shihab Nye's RED BROCADE

Red Brocade

by Naomi Shihab Nye

The Arabs used to say,

When a stranger appears at your door,

feed him for three days

before asking who he is,

where he’s come from,

where he’s headed.

That way, he’ll have strength

enough to answer.

Or, by then you’ll be

such good friends

you don’t care.

Let’s go back to that.

Rice? Pine Nuts?

Here, take the red brocade pillow.

My child will serve water

to your horse.

No, I was not busy when you came!

I was not preparing to be busy.

That’s the armor everyone put on

to pretend they had a purpose

in the world.

I refuse to be claimed.

Your plate is waiting.

We will snip fresh mint

into your tea.

Food Poem Fridays: Michael Heffernan's PUTTANESCA

Puttanesca by Michael Heffernan

Before I gave up wondering why everything
was a lot of nothing worth losing or getting back,
I took out a jar of olives, a bottle of capers,
a container of leftover tomato sauce with onions,
put a generous portion of each in olive oil
just hot enough but not too hot,
along with some minced garlic and a whole can of anchovies,
until the mixture smelled like a streetwalker's sweat,
then emptied it onto a half pound of penne, beautifully al dente,
under a heap of grated pecorino romano
in a wide bowl sprinkled with fresh chopped parsley.
If you had been there, I would have given you half,
and asked you whether its heavenly bitterness
made you remember anything you had once loved.