Epicurean Living (Issue 2)

Epicurean Living
P H I L O S O P H Y G A R D E N I N G H O M E S T E A D I N G
C R E A T I V I T Y
E C O L O G Y

Epicurean life is about pleasure
and strategic moderation.

How can we live Epicurean lives today?
Put another way, how can we live pleasurable lives given
the increasingly toxic consequences caused by modern
living? There’s no perfect answer. But Epicureanism is about
making thoughtful life decisions by calculating the benefits,
costs, and consequences of our choices. It requires us to
navigate the tension between present wants and future
possible negative outcomes.
Imagining the long-term impact of our choices brings
greater clarity. Think ahead to next week, month, year, or
further into the future. Will the things you want now matter?
Or are they just distractions moving you away from a pleasurable life as a whole?

The Epicurean Garden

The “Garden”
What does a garden look like to you? Is it an abundant
vegetable plot? A peaceful retreat? A boxwood lined love knot
with a fountain? A romantic vista full of whimsy? Maybe it’s your
grandma’s old oak and a long stand of pole beans.
The word “garden” conjures different images for each of us.
Yet, in the essentials, a garden is always a place where humans
collaborate with nature on nature’s terms.
That’s why gardens are terrific teachers of humility and
gratitude. They remind us of our dependence on natural rhythms.
And they encourage us to appreciate what a gift it is to be part of
this amazingly complex and miraculous system of life.

Sustainable Gardening

What is Sustainable?
The UN definition of sustainability is about meeting the needs of
the present without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs. In many parts of our lives, that kind of
sustainability is difficult. In the garden though, we can go beyond
sustainable and even improve our shared environment.
No till practices and maximizing plant density can remove carbon
from the atmosphere and put it back into the soil. A diverse
population of pollinator and wildlife supporting plants can provide
habitat for at risk species. Homegrown fruits and vegetables reduce
the fossil fuel inputs and plastic packaging in our food supply.

How can
you grow a
sustainable
garden?

Grow Organically
Chemicals like herbicides, pesticides, and synthetic
fertilizers, tilling, and monocultures degrade the quality of
soil over time. They discourage diverse soil life and shortcircuit
the relationships that plants would otherwise form
with bacteria and fungi. Without those soil-based
relationships, plants are more prone to insect attacks,
fungal pathogens, and water stress.
Organic gardening, by contrast, takes a little more effort
to prepare the soil in advance. However, in time, soil
improves, plants grow better, and costs go down. It’s also
healthier for you when you don’t have to handle toxic
products, spend time in a chemically controlled garden,
or eat chemically treated food.

Grow Diversity and
Support Wildlife

Grow Your Wildlife Population
Beneficial insects, birds, and other life forms critical to
ecosystem health are threatened by toxic chemicals, loss of
habitat, climate change, and more. Humans are largely
responsible for this devastation. But we don’t have to be. We
can create wildlife support sanctuaries in our gardens.
Grow diverse pollinator friendly flower plots. Leave garden
debris out through winter to provide habitat. Offer shallow
water plates for safe drinking. Eliminate pesticide use. Enjoy
inviting more nature into your thriving garden!

Lettuce is beautiful while growing,
delicious to eat, and stunning when
flowering and going to seed.

Grow Your Own Food
Gardens can be beautiful and productive without
being farm-like.
Sowing a “come and cut” leaf lettuce bed keeps your
garden full, beautiful, and productive longer than
growing heads of lettuce you harvest just once.
Perennial plants like fruit trees, rhubarb, rosemary,
mint, fennel, lavender, or Sichuan peppers are easy to
grow. They offer long-standing beauty plus harvestable
benefits with less work than many annuals.
Think beyond the harvest when planning your
plantings. Consider the pleasures of spending time in a
garden that keeps on giving and is beautiful year-round.

Decorative perennial
vegetables like
asparagus can
produce for decades.

The Epicurean Homestead

Homestead Life
Homesteading is about turning your home
into a place that provides for many of your
needs. But that doesn’t mean it has to feel like a
job or involve lots of hard work. That’s exactly
what Epicurean homesteading shouldn’t be!
Choose activities you enjoy. Create routines
that help you relax. Opt for simple ways of
doing things that require fewer tools and less
maintenance in the long run.
Spend more time enjoying your Epicurean
lifestyle than working on your homestead.

Many homesteaders aspire to raise livestock for meat to
reduce costs and ensure those animals live well. This is a noble
goal. However, raising enough animals to replace the quantity
of meat most people eat today can result in a lot of hard work
and a heavy heart from all that processing.
Sustainable
Meat Production
Before you start, focus on eating smaller portions of meat,
more pleasurably prepared. A single duck or chicken breast or
steak -- sliced thin and served on a platter of risotto-- can feed
a family. Or cuts can be spread out over multiple meals. Using
less meat in more delicious and attractively presented ways
cuts environmental and monetary costs while enhancing
pleasure.
After right-sizing meat consumption, then ordering your
chicks “straight run” and processing roosters, keeping a
breeding flock of ducks, or even hunting a deer or two can
provide sufficient meat with less work.

Simplify Home Cooking
Cooking can be a pain if you follow complicated
recipes with long ingredient lists. But if you cook with
what’s fresh from the garden, using spices and
staples you always stock, it gets easy.
Keep the steps simple by trimming out anything
that seems too fussy. Save time by using durable,
high-quality appliances like a mixer, blender, or food
processor. Grind spices fresh in a coffee grinder for
peak flavor and easy preparation.
To enhance the dining experience, add garnish.
Harvest fresh herbs as a plate decoration. Add color
and increase flavor intensity with a splash of hot
sauce or flavored oils and vinegars.

Bouquet Garni
Bouquet garni is the French term used to describe a
collection of culinary herbs tied in a bunch. They usually
include parsley or leaf celery, thyme, and bay leaf plus
other seasonally available herbs.
Rosemary, basil, chervil, French or Mexican tarragon,
oregano, winter or summer savory, sage, and common
or garlic chives are some of my favorite additions.
Lavender buds and fennel or anise flowers also make the
mix potent and pretty. Inhaling the aroma and while
arranging elegant bouquets is a pleasure.
Drop the bunch in soups and sauces for flavor and
fragrance. Remove before serving. Alternatively, put the
bunch in a jar of water and harvest bits of various herbs
as you need them over several days.

Simple ingredients, pleasantly prepared,
make the most amazing meals.

How to Cook Duck
Duck meat is lean like chicken, but rich and
satisfying like steak. To roast duck, prick the skin all
around. Surround or stuff with herbs and onions. Top
with butter. Cook covered on 375°F, basting
periodically with melted butter and wine, until tender.
Alternatively, the breast can be salt-cured and
sliced like prosciutto or seared and oven-finished like
a strip steak. Cover legs and wings in butter and cook
on 250°F until the meat falls off the bones. Then
refrigerate for 1-3 days in the fat and juices and serve
pieces of “confit” with a simple salad. Use the excess
skin and bones to make stock in a pressure cooker.

Give biscuits
and gravy an
upgrade with
a side salad.

Eat Greens
Year-Round
Corn salad or mâche is practically a weed. It
grows in late fall, winter, and early spring.
The leaves have a nutty, dense texture. It pairs
well pair well with dried fruit like dates or figs. A
few chunks of flavorful cheeses like chevre or
Roquefort elevate it to a five-star salad.
A drizzle of olive oil and balsamic plus rock salt
are all the dressing this delicious cold season
green need to make a great start to a meal.

Skip the chips and sauté up
some fresh snow pea pods!

Epicurean Creativity

What is Creativity?
Is creativity about generating ideas or innovative solutions?
Making art? Designing spaces or objects? Writing? Photography?
Being a musician? Cooking? Trying new things like growing exotic
spices? It can be all of these things… or none of them.
Creativity isn’t limited to a specific activity. It’s what happens
when you leave the beaten path and trust yourself. It grows when
you take a risk and start listening to your intuition.
With practice creativity can flow through all areas of your life.

Ideate as a habit
People journal to record events, work through
emotions, examine philosophies, as a garden record,
and more. But a journal is also a wonderful way to
activate your creativity.
Use your journal as a place to generate new ideas on
a daily basis. Sit down with a cup of your favorite
relaxing or uplifting beverage. Then let your
imagination run wild. Write down any new idea that
occurs to you -- no matter how whacky or unrealistic.
Just be careful not to make this a “to do” or a
shopping list. This is about letting your imagination
occupy your active thinking time for a while.

Sustainable Creativity
You can increase your creativity and sustainability at
the same time. Just make it a habit to think creatively
about the resources you use in your life.
❖Repurpose items otherwise destined for the landfill.
❖Give new life to objects you already have rather than
buying something new.
❖Plan projects around renewable resources available
near where you live.
❖Make some of the products you used to buy.
❖Focus on durable not landfill-destined materials for
your creative projects or decorative displays.

Change Your
Perspective
If you are a big picture person, dig into the details. ⧫ If
you are a details person, take a broader view. ⧫ Take a
risk if you are conservative. ⧫ Be more deliberate if you
normally dive in. ⧫ Imagine living someone else’s life --
realistically. ⧫ Visit new places or see old places in new
light. ⧫ Let go of an old habit and start a new one. ⧫
Get out of the algorithms that dictate what you see on
social media and internet searches by reading used
books, magazines, or journals that pre-date the
internet. ⧫ Apologize and mean it even when you think
you are right so you can let go of old grudges. ⧫
Recognize past mistakes as the experiences that
helped you become a more open-minded,
understanding person. ⧫ Realize that our world is
constantly evolving and change is inevitable.

Spending time in nature is one of the best ways to hone
your ecological understanding. Turn off your technological
devices. Focus on all the sensations and experiences
happening around you.
What does sun feel like? How does air taste and smell?
What sounds draw your attention? What kind of nonhuman
social interactions do you see taking place? How do
the plants, animals, and ambient qualities interact?
Don’t try to relate or find some deeper meaning. Just
calmly observe the incredible variety of life forms and
complexity of activity that takes place all around.
Explore Nature
One of the most profound lessons being in nature can
teach is that it’s not about us. Humans are part of nature
not the center of it. So much in nature happens all by itself
with absolutely no human assistance. Yet, we do have the
destructive powers to ruin it all if we aren’t careful.

When you can predict the negative consequences of
your choices, it’s easier to do the right thing. However,
most of the choices we make today have incalculable
impacts. For example, climate change is caused by
things like transportation, refrigeration, construction,
fashion, and the use of other technologies. But how do
we calculate the consequences of our personal usage?
Or how do we know if giving them up will do any good?
Think
Ecologically
The ecologically sound answer is easier than most
people think. Don’t focus on the costs. Instead focus on
the benefits. If something you want to do, or own, will
genuinely make your life better or create memories
you’ll treasure forever, go for it! But offset those
meaningful costs by skipping stuff that’s really just filler
and distraction.

Home Can Be Your
Wellness Retreat
People go to wellness spas to escape the toxicity of their
normal lives. Why not use your home as a place of regular
wellness and renewal instead?
Avoid chemical pollution by using only a few products with
short ingredient lists. Vinegar and mild soap can handle most
cleaning tasks. Shampoo bars and moisturizes made from
edible ingredients keep you radiant.⧫ Make herbal infused
water to replace caloric beverages. ⧫ Sequester TVs and
computers to a far end of your living space.⧫ Establish a
“donate bin” next to your recyclables to clear clutter as you
come across it. ⧫ Stretch or close your eyes and focus on
your breathing whenever you feel hurried. ⧫ Detox yourself
with daily salads and vegetable ferments.

Seasonal living -- the first strawberry/the last
persimmon, spring flowers/fall leaves, first snow/last frost,
long days/long nights – gives life a rich patina of contrast
and interest. However, today seasonality plays less of a
role in our modern lives. We buy seasonal foods shipped
from the other hemisphere. Electric heating and cooling
alter the climates in our home. Simulated daylight is the
light we live by most often.
Live Seasonally
Today we must choose seasonal living to enjoy the kind
of pleasure our ancestors experienced naturally. But it is
so worth it! Anticipation is a huge part of the enjoyment
and satisfaction of living well. Waiting to enjoy seasonal
pleasures in their natural time increases the joy of having
them. Open the windows, eat fresh and local, linger in
waxing and waning natural light, and welcome seasonal
rhythms into your life.

No one person or organization can salvage our suffering
environment alone. If we each focus our energy and efforts on
the ecological causes we feel passionately about, we can
change the future starting now.
Support an
Ecological
Cause
Grow native plants for wildlife ⧫ Support migrating monarchs
⧫ Advocate for the end of single use plastics ⧫ Plant trees
⧫ Preserve national parks ⧫ Participate in citizen science
⧫ Support local food producers or safer food and water
⧫ Reduce carbon ⧫ Use clean energy ⧫ Create bird habitat
⧫ Do environmental clean up ⧫ Do other ecological work.
There’s no right answer about which issues need your
attention. What really matters is that you focus on the
environmental needs that resonate most with you. Then,
channel your concerns for our ecological future into positive
action now.

Sow the seeds of a
beautiful future now!

Want More Epicurean Ideas?
• Check out my books!
• Visit me at Simplestead.com.
• Follow me on Instagram
@exploresimplestead.