We're Cheating

...but only a little

In an ideal world, I would not put one droplet of "processed" food into my shrine of a body this year. But, guess what? I do not live in an ideal world. Do you? Because, if so, I would like to be invited over to your place! What do I mean?

I am a regular contributor to the Boston Globe which means that I spend a fair amount of time testing recipes for my columns. My editor would absoulutely have a fit if I asked the readers of the Boston Globe to embark on an unprocessed mission and make things like homemade ketchup or tortillas. That being said, we have a few things in our pantry and fridge that do not meet the criteria for the year. However, (and this is big) we reside in one of the most expensive cities in the country (if not the world). And, I have the (un?)fortunate pleasure of working an hourly job as a baker. Bakers, I will have you know, are not the highest paid folks out there. So, in an effort to avoid bankruptcy in 2010 (something else that I highly recommend), we will be eating the results of our Boston Globe recipe testing even though the dish does not fully meet our "unprocessed" standards.

We will, nonetheless, keep our goals and parameters in mind when creating new recipes for the Globe. We are most definitely making an effort to include a minimal number of ingredients that do not fit our plan. I will give you an example. Today, I am testing an adobo pork recipe that calls for soy sauce. (All of the other ingredients in the recipe do meet our demands.) Since, I have yet to figure out how to ferment my own soy sauce, I will be using commercially prepared version. To be clear, this does not mean that we will be commercially prepared soy sauce in other dishes. If we make exceptions, it will only be for the Boston Globe recipes. Just because we have it in the house does not mean that we are free to use it.

Please accept my confession, and don't judge too harshly! ;)