Slow Food at it's best

So, I've been spending the last few free days that I've had at home, making preserves and sauces for the winter. So far, I've made apple crisp filling, apple butter and crushed tomatoes. I still have several jars more to make of apple butter, and then I'd like to think that I'm done for the autumn - we shall see how that goes.
I think there is a lot of tranquility and beauty in preparing and stirring produce, making sauces and jams, and thinking of the people who provided me with the fruits and vegetables that I'm preserving. It is nice to think that all of the apples and tomatoes I will be eating this winter are fresh, organic and made with lots of love by people who care for me! The careful stirring, the addition of spices and salts, the aromas that rise from my little kitchen, the bubbling of the canning pot - all of these things bring a simple joy and quiet, and harkens me back to a time when this was the only way to prepare for the winter's cold. Seeing the long lines of jars, with their bejeweled reds and golds, bring about a sense of accomplishment and beauty to my pantry shelves!
If we still lived in a society where we were wholly dependent on the abundance of our land, and the mercy of God, to feed us, then this would be the way we would be fed when the howling winter winds blow. However, we have largely abandoned that; I know I can easily find a banana, or a tomato, on Toronto streets in the dead of winter if I so choose. It sometimes seems to me that we have lost the acknowledgement of God's great and generous hand in providing for our very nourishment by His seasons, as we have taken control over the food supply, allowing us to have all the food we want, whenever we want it. This is particularly poignant today, as it is Thanksgiving. Our abundance of food consumed this weekend is often sadly separated from the original celebration; the original settlers would thank our great Father for providing yet another good harvest and for their well-stocked larders for the coming winter, celebrating with the abundance of what they had gathered in. Today, we are no longer sure where anything we put in our mouths come from, whether it's the tinned pumpkin pie filling, or the fruit from everywhere (and nowhere), or the disproportionate turkey. Now, I love Thanksgiving dinner as much as the next guy, but I often wonder how deep our thanks can be to God the Father, if we are not truly dependent on His hand for our daily bread...