Instructions: Close your eyes and imagine the fragrant spices of Cajun cooking or the bouquet of world-class wines.

These foods are more than great-tasting - they are part of our cultural identity.

An organization called Slow Food USA - yes, there is a Great Valley chapter, led by Modesto attorney Therese Tuttle - believes there can be more pleasure and quality in everyday life simply by slowing down, respecting the convivial traditions of the table and celebrating the diversity of natures bounty - course by course.

"People dont slow down enough to eat, let alone digest whats happening in their lives," says Sara McGinley, who helps clients achieve their personal, professional and life goals. "The thing that is so powerful about Slow Food is that it is a way of living, not something you have to put on your to-do list."

Carlo Petrini, founder of Slow Food, explains: "Slow Food is not a knee-jerk reaction to the homogeneity of fast food. Its a call for consideration of the effect speed has on our lives."

The Slow Food movement got its start in 1986 in Piedmont, Italy, when Petrini decided that fast-food culture had gone too far. The proverbial straw that broke the camels back: The opening of a McDonalds on the 18 th-century Piazza di Spagna in Rome.

"Fast food is the enemy. Its the abnormal rhythms in which we are living our lives," Petrini writes. "Being slow does not mean you have to move more slowly, chew a certain number of times per bite.

"Slow means you govern the rhythms of your life. Youre in control of deciding how fast you have to go. Today, you might want to go fast, so you do.

Tomorrow, you may want to go slow, so you can. Thats the difference!"

The Slow Food philosophy is resonating worldwide: Slow Food now has more than 70,000 members and 650 chapters, which are called conviviums.

A convivium is not a social group; its an educational organization with an agenda to promote taste education. Each convivium meets on an informal basis to promote micro-purveyors of traditional foods, learn about culinary traditions, arrange tastings and discuss philosophies of how eating well improves mental and physical well-being.

"To me, life is not about the number of toys I have, but the amount of time I have with the toys I do have," Minnesota chef Ron Huff said. "I want to educate people, let people know there is a whole different lifestyle."

Slow Food has pioneered projects such as Ark of Taste, which is aimed at saving endangered food products, cultivators and livestock breeds. Current Ark projects include oranges from Morocco, barbecue from the Mississippi Delta and Minnesota wild rice.

Huff bemoans the demise of the family structure and the unhealthy eating habits of Americans.

"We are an impatient lot in America. We can shop 24 hours a day, seven days a week," he said. "Slow food has answered my philosophical needs - its time has come and it is essential in todays society."

For guidance, Huff says, Americans need only to look to Europe, where food is still purchased daily from butchers, bakeries, chocolatiers and other small food shops - all fresh, none designed to travel. Slow Food USA wants Americans to rediscover the joys of buying fresh local foods in season.

I loved my life and breakneck pace in Chicago, but there was so little down time. I moved to Minnesota, and my quality of life dramatically improved.

Ive grown a large vegetable garden. Ive found small producers and farmers to supply my restaurant and catering business. I shop the farmers markets in season.

Im not advocating we all start a farm, but we should realize how lucky we are to have such incredible resources, even if it is for a short time each year.

A compatriot of mine in the Slow Food philosophy is Eric Goerdt. When I began my catering business, I shared kitchen space with Goerdt, who also shared my philosophy of quality food and commitment to hand-craftsmanship and taste.

He opened a shop that features his own smoked fish, artisan cheeses and hard-to-find foodie items.

"Ya gotta taste this!" he shouts as he offers a generous chunk of black pepper-coriander salmon to shoppers. His smoking process for German brown trout, rainbow trout, whitefish, lake trout and salmon takes a minimum of three days.

"Everything thats worth eating takes a little time," Goerdt says.

"As food companies in our country grow larger and larger, there is a growing number of people who really want to know where their food comes from.

They are hungry for quality and attention to detail."

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