The magic of imperfection

The Japanese have a word for it: wabi-sabi. Like so much of Asian thought and language, there’s no direct English translation. One essay says it is “the magic of imperfection.” Elsewhere it is described as everything that is imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. It’s the opposite of the symmetry of perfection that we seem to demand in so many parts of our lives—from architecture to fashion to food. It is not sleek cars and shiny shopping malls.

I got my first box of imperfect vegetables last night. I signed up for a service that calls itself Imperfect Produce partly because I see it as yet another way to save our planet, partly because it offers both traditional and organize versions of many fruits and vegetables, and partly just out of curiosity. Just using imperfect produce rather than throwing it out justifies the idea in my mind.

Over the years I’ve experimented with food coops. I guess they’re still around, but the coop idea takes my mind back to the eighties. I remember having to work sorting vegetables one Saturday a month and getting whatever was available that week: if they had turnips and you don’t like them, too bad. You got turnips.

Imperfect Produce lets you choose. In my area they deliver on Tuesdays, so from Friday night until Sunday night I can go online and customize my order. That freedom is nice, because I changed my mind a couple of times over the weekend.

All my avocadoes

Ultimately, I got more oranges than I’d ordered—something like six or seven, a plethora of little, runty rock-hard avocadoes that will be great in a few days, a head of leaf lettuce, a lovely bunch of radishes (because Christian loves them), a nice symmetrical onion, a couple of apples, and an eggplant. I’m looking forward to eggplant parmigiana, a dish I haven’t made in several years.

And I had the sweetest orange ever for breakfast this morning.

The order comes with a handy storage guide that tells you what to keep on the counter, in the pantry, and in the fridge. The chart warns that apples, bananas, and pears give off ethylene gas, which causes other produce to ripen and go bad faster. Got to get those apples away from my avocadoes!

I haven’t checked on this for sure, but I’m assuming the produce is locally grown—yet another huge reason to try the service. Check it out yourself at http://www.imperfectproduce.com

And on the subject of the pure and natural, Sophie had a spa day today. A little over a month ago, her allergies were giving both of us fits. She was wheezing and coughing, and when she slept her breathing sounded like air going into a wet sponge. She was living on Benedryl. After a bath and haircut, all her symptoms went away, and I decided it was because the groomer got all that dust and pollen out of her thick coat. So now I’m determined to pay more attention to her grooming schedule.

Somehow eating imperfect organize produce and keeping a dog allergy-free and off medications go together in my mind. And they both make me happy.