Peter Piper Picked a Peck of...

salad-y things. And are they not super pretty? A little ray of sunshine has come into my garden and everything is finally starting to grow big, green and lush. Well, still no basil but I'm working on that. One recent and rather lovely Spring evening I thought it would be good cranky therapy for my son to traipse around our garden gathering up goodies for a salad to offset the damage done by our accompanying pasta carbonara. Great fun too. The lad and I decided we were on a treasure hunt and thus every salad cobbled together from our garden will now be known as treasure salad. A few minutes standing at the sink washing and tearing up tiny bits of parsley, mint, coriander, mixed lettuce and chive flowers chased eased every last bit of cranky in my boy, and I felt pretty good too. A highly recommended activity for cactus hour when things are going awry.  Picking such delicate little bits got me reflecting on a thought that often plods around in my mind in those quiet moments. I have always been a bit fascinated by the girl/boy divide. The place where girls and boys are inherantly different. I used to think it was all in the upbringing, and I suppose to a degree, buying dolls for girls and tut, tutting boys in their Mum's high heels goes some way to enhancing the difference. But, no matter how much we polish the pinkness or blueness there will remain an inherant variation.
The salad was specifically on my mind because I'd just read an article which suggested  (permission to exaggerate and eleborate on what was ACTUALLY written)  that men and women were naturally more inclined and suited nutritionally to certain food types and ways of eating. It pointed out a tendency for men to prefer foods suited to their 'hunter' heritage. Blokes like a large meaty reward. Women, on the other hand, being the gatherers, tend to eat smaller meals, more veg and often have a sweeter tooth. Think of little cave lady (we'll call her Urgrette) dressed in her best piece of dead animal skin, hair delicately tied with a piece of bark amongst the greenery collecting and sampling bits of plant and berries from dawn to dusk. Me thinks she probably needed a little sugar hit here and there. She probably had 17 kids following her and a husband at work 'til late. Trouble with the mammoth again, he says.
The article also outlined our human tendency to explain away our behaviours with stories through the eyes of science. Having just created Urgrette I guess we do. I quite like doing this, too. The hunter gatherer story is my go-to favourite for all the things I do differently to my husband. It's no one's fault, it goes way back. Like my super ability to clean as I go. That's the gatherer in me. As I stomp about the house I constantly gather toys, rubbish, crumbs, shoes and bits of fluff and very efficiently deposit them in their appropriate spots. It saves time, injuries (waylayed toys are a hazard!) and keeps the chaos intolerant monster inside me, happy. Hubbie on the other hand is more inclined to set himself to a task with his prey clearly in sight. He knows what he wants to catch and it doesn't matter how he gets there. Therefore, it's not uncommon to find him hidden deep beneath a pile of bits of wood and tools with blood dripping from an injury sustained in the hunt. His catch (lets say a perfectly constructed chook nesting box) gripped firmly between his hands.
Christmas shopping on your minds, yet? I'll take the hunter gatherer analogy a step further. The hunter approaches shopping with a clear picture of his prey in mind and it's exact location(s). He strides stealthily and confidently into the shop, purchases said item(s) and strides back out, filled with self satisfaction that his family won't go hungry when Santa comes. I, on the other hand, prefer to spend time in the most abundant gathering areas. Checking the ripeness of the fruit several times before picking it. I like my family to have a varied diet so I drag them through many shops, umming and ahhing and picking up little bits and pieces here and there, relishing in delight when I find an enourmous and perfectly ripe pumpkin hidden beneath a leaf (read: great pair of shoes, in my size, half price, in the bargain bin.)
I've been lucky enough to do a bit of gathering lately. The whole family jumped in the car for a trip to Castlemaine on Sunday. We gathered up some lovely olives and dips at the farmers market, then some other bits at the supermarket for a picnic in the botanical gardens. It was such a lovely spot and there's nothing quite like some alfreso food in the sunshine. We also dropped in on the artists market while we were in town. It's run down a sweet little alley way, behind some shops. It was a lovely, but brief whttp://www.larkmade.com.auander with two hungry kidlets. We treated ourselves to a new handmade chopping board (bargain bin-awesome) and spoon. Lucky us.
Yesterday myself and my hunter enjoyed some kid free time in  the sunshine. Again, lucky us. After delivering some colouring books, Finger Monsters and Paper Peggies to Lark (check out their beautiful website at http://www.larkmade.com.au) we did a bit more gathering. I found a pristine pair of vintage desert boots, still with tags, in my son's size. Too cool. My daughter didn't miss out, either. A dove grey pair of overalls with a scallop edged pocket for her. TWO stylish kiddies.

These blogs keep getting longer, so I'm not going to put a big buntyandsars rant on the end this time. All I'll say is: awesome Daylesford Makers Market last Saturday and can't wait for my double whammy weekend at the end of this month. I'll be filling my dead animal skin purse and wearing my very best dead animal skin dress and bit of bark in my hair because, along with some buntyandsars selling, I will be doing some serious Christmas present gathering. Hope to see everyone at Daylesford Makers on Saturday the 27th followed by Sugar and Spice in Ballarat on Sunday the 28th.