When it comes to cooking time at home, I would never stop wondering where do we get our fresh ingredients from. I could still recall my school break, as a daughter, I was responsible for helping out my mom shopping at the fresh market. I followed my mom and helped carrying the basket that passed on to us from the grandma generation. On the way that was crowded with goods and people on the walkway,I saw two sides, left and right, lined with many merchants from the same including nearby provinces who brought together the products to sell vigorously. When I looked around again, I saw many interesting items available ranging from vegetables, fruits, pigs, ducks, chickens, fish, sea animals, curry bags, desserts, ready-to-eat food that had a touch of Thai and Chinese culture, clothes, shoes, bags until the lottery. While hearing the band from the visually impaired, singing for income, the atmosphere was lively like this every day, from 4 am to 11 am. My job as a daughter was to use my left hand to hold the basket and make sure it does not hit anyone, while using my right hand to cling to the mother's arms to not get lost in the market. I always followed my mother to the market every school break that I started to remember which stores she likes to visit. My mother would greet every seller. While selecting products If something is not known before, my mother would ask the salesman how to use it for cooking. Whichever she liked, she would drop it in the basket and got ready to pay. After completing the mission in the market, my mom and I always made a stop to pick up the hot Thai sweetmeat named, “Kanomkrok” from the pre-ordered. My mom was good at calculating the shopping time that fits the Kanomkrok’s queue. During a ride home from the market, what I usually did was to open the lid of the Kanomkrok to blow out the heat before enjoying the sweetness of coconut milk, flour and sugar which is the signature of Thai desserts. The deliciously fragrant pieces were those warm pieces at the bottom that were placed on the banana leaf, while the upper ones would be slightly crispier. The memories of going to the fresh market are still clear in my mind up until these days.
I went to the fresh market with my mother every semester. From elementary to secondary Until some vendors do not just greet our mother Turned into a question of growth in all our semesters, from primary to secondary school that the sellers did not just greet my mom but also asked about how I did at school every semester. Since then, growth and career have brought me far from home. The fresh market was not one of the goals that are identified in my daily plan
anymore. I chose to walk into the restaurant instead of the kitchen, as there are restaurants spread everywhere in the city that are served every morning, lunch and dinner until dark. After many years in Bangkok, I decided to move back home for the garden house. The context of life encourages me to be more self-reliant but I had no basic skills like cultivating or finding a livelihood at all. So, I had to start learning to gain those skills. From the purchase of hydroponic vegetables to eat continuously for a long time,making the decision to do organic agriculture in the backyard is an option that I never regret. The product and vegetables collected in the garden allow me to enjoy cooking with use of the imagination in the kitchen. This encourages me to wanting to cook in a more difficult menu besides the simple dishes like fried vegetables and omelets. Of course, I may be able to raise pigs, fish, or chickens, but I cannot kill them for food because I do not dare to. Meanwhile, I am unable to grow all kinds of plants that I like to eat, so the fresh market therefore has returned as meaningful thing in my life again.
Going out to the fresh market as an adult isn't just about carrying money and basket anymore. I secretly carried my chicken farming and raising experience with me there. I always ask questions to the sellers before I buy the products about the origin of food, planting location as well as the planting method. If the sellers respond that their vegetables come from a large market of the province, I will then put those products down and say thank you plus a sweet smile (immediately) before I walk away. As for the meat, if it is not a Thai chicken or snake-head fish that the villagers catch on the rice fields, I won't dare to buy it because for more than 4-5 years that I have armed myself to find a living,making me 'understand' more about food sources. Kale of the same species, regardless of where the crop is grown may have the same shape elements. But only a few people know that the results after eating are different. Kale is famous for being one of the top 10 vegetables that have been chemically cultivated for many years. Our bodies can't tell us if they are used to the same food. But that’s not a case for me anymore. Because after consuming safe food that I have grown them myself on a daily basis for many consecutive years 'My body' can tell what kind of kale should I eat and which kale shouldn't be bought for eating. This is not just limited to kale but also various kinds of vegetables, fruits and other meats which are chemically contaminated these days. I can recognize this from the look and smell that is passed out from fresh ingredients after a random experiment. Not only kale Including various kinds of vegetables, fruits and other meats on the market in modern times, contaminated with chemicals, which I can recognize from the look and smell that is passed out from fresh ingredients after a random try Bought for testing If anyone want to prove the smell that can be easily tested, I suggest you to buy organic vegetables from reliable sources and the same kind of vegetables but from the general market. Put them in two separate glass bottles, then close the lids tightly. I suggest you to observe the changes in vegetables in the 2 bottles over 3-14 days.
When seeing different changes in both physical and smell, causing the market that I have been to is not the answer to the food source for the quality of life that I want. However, I still haven't met the dead end because nowadays, many people are affected by chemical contaminated food, causing illnesses such as cancer, allergies. The medication and treatment will not better the conditions as long as we are still eating these contaminated food whether it is pesticide and
its residues from the planting process, Formalin that is secretly used in the fresh market to preserve the life shelf of fish as well as various synthetic substances put in the ingredients produced from industrial plants. This leads to a growing consumer demand for safe food. The closest and most convenient way is to turn to rely on self in growing vegetables. But there is still insufficient variety of nutrients for every meal every day. Fortunately, there is a new generation of farmers turning to organic farming who have organized the group of the 'Alternative market' for consumers to choose to buy safe products with confidence. This market is named 'Pun Yhu Pun Kin'
Author
Noon – Natkanag Prichaborisutkul
Farmer/ Safe Food Producer/
Organic Soap and Shampoo Producer/ Self-managed Trainer