#1 Hello
This letter is a humble beginning of a new project - the B letter.
What on earth is the B letter, you might wonder?
The truth is, we don't fully know, yet. But what we do know, is that we hope to connect with you through an offline letter and that food and wellbeing are our thing.
This past year has forced everyone to be online way more than one can cope. We hope that this small sheet of paper, in an envelope, will take you away from the screen for a few moments, creating a mindful break.
Since we last spoke, we've ventured more and more into plant-based foods while sitting down to 21 meals a week. It´s not like we cook them all. Rather, it's a continuous juggling act between time, appetite, money, bed-time routine, our willpower, and kids´ bandwidth. And yes, there is also the cleaning part!
With so much ongoing conversation about Covid, climate crisis, we've come to realise that food is more than we see on the plate. Food is a vote for our health, a vote for the planet, an act of celebration, it's how we socialise and food determines the quality of life. This is food to us, what is it to you?
Recently, our Saturdays feature a trip to the south side, Södermalm. For just a few short months each year, we find joy in buying organic, seasonal produce from local farmers.
It´s a military operation. Cycling there with 2 kids in tow takes several hours. It feels like an effort: there are queues, it's cold, we get hungry, the kids wander off in different directions. It can feel tedious to eat organic. Don't you think?
And yet we keep coming back. Maybe it's the thrill of the diverse and ever-changing produce, the dopamine hit from finding the biggest beetroot, the intensity of flavours, the humbling experience of meeting the farmer, or the wonkiness of it all that brings us here. Or perhaps it's the briefness of it, reminding us of the cycles and bounty of nature.
Coming home to a game of fridge Tetris, we feel a sense of gratitude and appreciation for all the hands that built a wall of root vegetables, carefully picked ripe tomatoes, foraged and cleaned mushrooms, portioned blueberries, made cheese, picked herbs, washed enormous salads, collected honey, juiced apples and baked bread.
None of this is visible in the supermarket.
And although this is just the beginning of another tedious part of the Branny life, the cooking that follows, going to the farmers market is also a reminder that there is more at stake than effort. It's nourishing our bodies with food, day after day, and trusting that this small action matters, not only for our health, but also for the planet. Amen!
Before we say goodbye, here are some unfiltered, unistagramable pictures from these weekly wonky harvests.
Till next time,
