Raw Dish!

Lunch- 1 1/2 lbs. red flame seedless grapes

"Our State" magazine, has an article about a 400 year old grapevine that is thriving on Roanoke Island in North Carolina.  The vine was first noted in 1584 by an English Captain, Arthur Barlowe.  Barlowe wrote of the vine and grapes; the shore was "...so full of grapes as the very beating and surge of the sea overflowed them...", and "...I thinke in all the world the like abundance is not to be found," finally, "Their smell of sweetness filled the air as if they were in the midst of a delicate garden."

This is what our American land was like, it was a beautiful paradise of fruit, berries, nuts, seeds, and abundant wildlife.  Nature provided everything; one need only walk through the beautiful natural environment and find all the nourishment needed for survival.  What happened?  In our urban setting people cut down fruit trees because of the "mess."  On a trip to Florida, I saw citrus rotting on the ground because no one wanted it.  How many people could be fed if we worked with nature instead of against it?

Think about Governor's Island.  Imagine an urban farm there.  Thousands could be fed, educated, and NYC could be given a renewed connection with it's literal roots.