I love to cook. I love to bake. I love making up new recipes and food combinations, experimenting with flavors, and searching out new ways to maximize nutrition while minimizing food costs. I enjoy time spent in the kitchen because it is where I pour energy into caring for my loved ones in the most tangible of ways.
I was raised in a family where my mother cooked from scratch. She used an occasional mix or pre-made product, but these were in place alongside home-canned tomato sauce, vegetables frozen from our own garden, and baked goods that began with flour, yeast, and fresh butter. On Sunday mornings we had home-made pancakes or French toast, with hot sizzling bacon or sliced ham, orange juice, and cream-topped milk poured from a glass bottle. Weekday breakfasts were often hot oatmeal with cinnamon and stewed apples, or creamed wheat with cream. I learned to appreciate the tasty foods that came from her hands, drawn from her own oven.
I am the mother of three children, one a powerfully beautiful adult lady and mother of my two amazing grandsons, one a fantastically creative and intelligent younger woman, and the third a precious son awaiting me on the other side of the clouds. I am the daughter of one of the strongest women I have ever known, as well as the little girl of a hard-working father; the sister of a courageous older brother the niece of wonderful aunts and uncles; the granddaughter of a grandmother with whom this whole family began and who only left us at the age of 102.
I want to learn from all of these relationships...and one of the ways that family ties are knotted is through sharing sustenance together.
I see food as a catalyst for ordinary gatherings, joyous celebrations, and comfort in times of grief. Providing a necessary element for survival is deeply rooted in nurturing behavior through the millennia...making that sustenance enjoyable is where the laughter and smiles arrive. Cooking is more than meeting a physical need, it is one way that we share our attention and affection with those for whom we care the most.
My commitment to sustainable lifestyles, organic health, and the value of old-fashioned skills cannot be denied. I believe that now more than ever we stand at a point in history where our choices as human beings will either acquit or condemn us in the courtroom presided over by our grandchildren one day. Our planet shudders under the weight of pollution and non-biodegradable waste that continues to fill our environment, and though our own lifetimes will perhaps end before the results of these toxic accumulations reach catastrophic levels, our descendants will hold us accountable for our effect on the earth we leave for them...whether we are a blessing or a curse.
I want to be a blessing.
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." ~Plato
