Love Them Georgia Peaches

We've been stationed in Ft. Benning, GA for a solid month now. When we first arrived in June, it was four days before my 30th birthday, and we were living in a hotel. While Mike transitioned through Army paperwork and red tape, I was left at "home" to study the landscape and plot my future here. My birthday was once going to be a carousing night in Manhattan spent with my two dearest girlfriends, but the Army had changed our plans. My thirtieth came with many loving thoughts and gifts from friends and family - all of which were spread throughout the summer - but the redemption came when I saw Mike's gift: he flew my best friend (circa 1992) down from NYC to spend the weekend with me (why not fly me to NYC? he just doesn't think "her without me" at all). It made Columbus, Georgia feel so much homier to go tromping around with her.

Our household goods arrived the day after we signed our lease on the new apartment: this place is everything I need right now! Spacious and bright. Through the work I can do indoors, it makes me less focussed on what I miss about Charleston. Room by room things have been coming together completely. I applied to Columbus State University, and was hired to teach two sections of their first-year composition and rhetoric course (which will begin at the end of August). Mike is awaiting the formal beginning of his residency here, so in the meantime is enjoying Airborne School and learning how to jump from an airplane.

During our road trip we were subjected to a whole lot of convenient meals. By the time it was over I'd gained a few pounds and felt generally unhealthy every night by bed time.

When we landed in our home the first room I established was our Kitchen. Then I disposed of any foods with:

• sugar
• high-fructose corn syrup
  
• enriched and/or bleached flour
• hydrogenated oil
• saturated fats

Within a day I felt better. These ingredients I've always known were poor nutrition. It's not like I suddenly learned, but I did suddenly get fed up with the alternatives. Occasionally I miss the crap I loved eating as a college student, but the negative reinforcement of my indigestion automatically makes me regret the "occasional" to the point that I just don't indulge. It's not worth it!!

There are a lot of easy ways to revamp your eating habits, and they don't necessarily cost more money. They just cost a little more time. My freezer is becoming full of home-made easy-dinners for busy nights, for instance. One of the best resources I've had for just overall meal planning is the magazine "Everyday Food". It is a Martha Stewart publication, but better than my experience with her recipes in the past. It's just so simple, elegant, flavorful, and natural.

I'm just tired of eating things I'm not supposed to.

So, for something new, I did teach myself to preserve my favorite fruit. Sweet Georgia peaches are the pinnacle of summertime flavor to me, and the 23 half-pints I put up as preserves were so satisfying! Enjoy some photos: