I have a joke from long ago. A long time ago. When I was in college, there was a food co-op in town. It was very popular with the young Gen X’ers. It was run by all the old hippies, well, to me at 18 they were old. They were like 45 or so. Ancient. Oh, to be young….and clueless.
But that co-op had a deli, which was far too expensive for my pocket to eat at often. When I felt flush, I’d casually walk up and buy something, trying to be as hip as possible, even though I had no idea what cracked wheat salad or quinoa fluff was. And then choke it down, blathering on about how great kale tasted!
(This one isn’t AI-generated; it’s the real thing.)
But I also thought having selfies with the Further Bus was pretty epic.
I was trying to fit in, to find myself, and like as it always did (and still does), every fall brought a new crop of kids in town, ready to embrace the back-to-nature lifestyle. I wasn’t prepared to go live in a Rainbow Family compound, hoeing the land, but I was ready to start cooking out of 1960-70s cookbooks and embrace using my molars to chew a lot. Most of the dishes at the co-op were vegetarian.
So the joke came later that when I make very earthy recipes full of kale, lentils, beans, quinoa, and other things…it is a trip to The Hippy Hut™. They are not for everyone. It might not be for you. And even I can only take so much.
The Hippy Hut™ recipe collection:
Cherry and Hemp Breakfast Rice
Plant Based Cream of Mushroom Soup Mix
~Sarah