fueled by curry

so last night steve and I watched the semi-recent documentary, Fuel, which is available to watch for free on hulu.com, and it's been on my mind ever since.

I feel strong correlations building between the content of Fuel, Gasland, Food Inc., Queen of the Sun, Last Child in the Woods, Food Matters and several other sources of food for thought that my old noodle has been feasting on over the last two or three years.

I have made many changes in my life in the last three or four years, each one focused in some way on living better, where better is defined by improving my own health while decreasing the negative impact my being has on other beings, or by improving the situation of other beings regardless of the impact on my own situation. they've all been small steps, but I've been pretty good about sticking to them. (click here if you want to read what i've been doing- warning: the document is long, but i wanted to write it all out somewhere so that i can be held accountable if i ever stop caring. i want there to be an outline of what has been possible and comfortable for me already, and what i should be possible and comfortable for the rest of my life if i care to keep it so.)

one of my most recent resolutions (34th birthday resolution) is to have a "Pro-Liver"/pro-immune system year... zero alcohol, sensible caffeine, lots of fresh veggies, coconut & curries (turmeric & ginger for liver forever). i was pumped for lots of fresh food, including lots of vietnamese food (i've been fine-tuning my versions of vietnamese pickles!).

but this Fuel bit... it prompted me to pick up a locavore resource and cookbook, which I've spent the afternoon reading and which is awesome.... but there is not a curry or turmeric recipe in the book. nor a single banh mi or bun recipe. and of course there isn't. this is a book for mid-Atlantic Americans with locavore hearts, and coconuts and turmeric just aren't on any mid-Atlantic growing chart, nevermind a seasonal one.

so what to do? what's the daughter of a Vietnamese (or Guatemalan or Indian or Turkish, for that matter) immigrant to do if she wants to eat the way her ancestors ate, but with a focus on the local? I want to eat healthfully and responsibly, but I also want to stay tied to the food of my heritage... I really want to know how to do this right- please drop me a line if you have suggestions (Seelinger at google's mail service dot com)