Jimmu's blog

Maggie Wood is a consultant in green design, and wife of Matthew Kureck

from Golden Earthworm Farm. She took some time to answer my questions.

• What do you remember about food when you were a child? 
  Cooking with my parents in the kitchen…Picking raspberries that grew along the driveway…Our house always smelling like soup!
   
• If I say Picnic, what do you think about? 
  Summertime, warm breezes, ants trying to steal the crumbs from your sandwich!
   
• What is your favorite food?
  Kale.  I’m not kidding.
   
• What does good food brings?
  Good food brings good health, good spirits, and good connections.  Good food also brings my body to beg for more.  (This could explain my kale addiction.)
   
• What is a perfect meal?
  A meal that celebrates the local, seasonal bounty!  For me, it starts with a trip out to the fields of my farm, and ends in the kitchen.  I like to give every vegetable its moment in the spotlight, so we cook simply.  When you’re eating produce so fresh, just minutes old, the food speaks for itself. 
   
• Do you think it is possible to feed the world in a mindful and sustainable way?
  Yes, I do.  I have hope.  
   
• Is food only food? Or is it bigger than simple nutriments? 
  Food is very powerful.  It heals, and it brings people together in a way that nothing else can.
   
• What do you think are the problems today with food and children?
  There’s nothing wrong with the children.  It’s the parents!  I’m tired of hearing the same line, “My kids won’t eat that!”  Of course they will!  Parents need to step it up and feed their children real food.  Food that will enable them to live healthy, productive lives.  I hate to be such a pessimist, but there’s little hope for the future with a generation raised on fake foods. 
   
• If you could change one thing in the way we eat today, what would it be?
  I wish everyone had access to the quality of food that I eat every day.  Growing your own food is one of the most amazing experiences you or your children can have.  I encourage everyone with a little extra space in their yard to start digging!
   
• Your fondest memory as a child about nature?
  Getting “lost” in the woods behind our house.  I remember imagining that I would have to survive for weeks on my own.  I would have to build my own shelter, forage for my own food.  I think my time spent outside as a child encouraged me to become a practical, capable person.  It made me want to learn to do almost everything for myself.  Even today, I find myself doing things that most people wouldn’t - or couldn’t - do for themselves.  We’ve lost a lot of skills through the generations.  It’s sad, really, but that’s for another discussion..
   
• What does spending time in nature brings you?
  The feeling of freedom and empowerment.  
   
• Do you have plants at home? Why? 
  Both indoors and out!  Having a 100 acre farm is not the norm, I know that.  I can safely say that plants make up a huge part of my life.  
   
• If you could build your summer house anywhere in the world, where would it be? Why?
  I’m already living in one!  It’s on a gorgeous organic farm and just steps away from one of the most beautiful beaches…  I’m extremely lucky and I love it here!
   
• On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is the time children spend playing in nature?
  Very important - 10!
   
• When you go on vacation, where do you go? Why?
  We go to Europe to visit friends and family.  Since we spend so much of our time in the “country” it’s nice to visit more cosmopolitan places.  
   
• If you could change one thing in the way cities and public buildings are designed, what would it be?
  More open space, of course!  More trees to help clean the air!
   
• Do you think enough is done to bring children to nature?
  More could be done, of course.  There are so many opportunities for learning in nature.  In a perfect world, half the school day would be spent outdoors.  
   
• Do you think it is possible for human to grow in a mindful and sustainable manner?
  Yes I do.