Last Wednesday, Connie and Lorraine hosted a group of visitors from Switzerland. They all work in the food industry, and by industry that is what I mean, food scientists, technologists, supply chain specialists, a professor of nutrition from the Medical University in Geneva. They came to the farm for a lunch and a quick walk out into the fields. Mostly to take a break from the technical side of their visit and to have a chance to see how food is grown on a small scale. he conversation around the very long table in the farmhouse was rather exhilarating and generally the consensus was - people need to cook and eat real food. The irony of course, and even they were laughing about this, is this is rather contrary to the work most of them do. The only descending voice was from someone who brought up the valid point of no time for cooking. He was asking, how would you choose between spending time with your family or helping your kids with homework and cooking a meal? The basic conclusion around the table was that most people can rearrange their time to work in this most vital activity. Include the entire family in food prep, not everyone has to play a huge role. Designate one person to put everything away, or have kids wash greens, top peas, or teach them knife skills to do some simple chopping. This is an opportunity for family time, as well as putting a meal on the table. And really it all comes down to our attitude about cooking, do we consider it drudgery or quality family time? It is what we make it. Meals don't have to be complicated. The luncheon I made for the Swiss Group was very Eatwell-centric, Nigel's sauerkraut, a delicious salad of carrots, cabbage and peas, cooked white beans with sage flowers, and kale and bacon quiche. Before the group left, they told me the Eatwell lunch was the best meal they had on their trip. So here's to the fresh food we all get to enjoy every week! Thank you all for being the people who do make it a priority and who understand the importance of cooking.