Grace's Intro :)
I'm Grace. I fell madly and hopelessly in love with food after I started gardening in the spring of 2006. I realized then that the food we eat is meant for much more than just sustenance. I learned that everything we put on our plates tells a story, everything we eat becomes a part of us. I realized that eating was... spiritual. Forgive me for perhaps coming off as fanatical or cheesy, but I suspect that anyone who belongs to a foodie website probably has had experience with this in some form or another.
To break it down: I saw my seeds turn into plants. I saw my plants grow and flourish under my care and give me fruit. When the season was over I had experienced something new. In addition to the miracle of life all around me, I saw that food wasn't necessarily something that I was entitled to. It was something that took work and patience, planning and nurturing. I had developed a relationship with my food.
I started doing research. I learned all I could about where my food came from and what story it told. I learned about my body and what it really needed. I had a thirst for information that was difficult to quench. I was sad to discover, but not surprised, that the food we eat is in jeopardy. I saw that with the industrialization of food came a whirlwind of change. We've sacrificed quality, sustainability, nutrition, land, morals, animal rights... the list goes on and on. I saw that there was so much at stake when it comes to the production of our food. Only in the past hundred years or so has food taken the shape that it does today. That means that until recently, EVERYONE had a relationship with their food, it's the way the world worked. So much is affected by this process of give and take- and that is what it is, whether we give back good things or bad. It is a process that it demands respect. Whether we realize it or not, every step we take is affecting the world around us.
I suppose I had a spiritual revelation of sorts. Not only did I get to have a first-hand relationship with the world around me in a way I had never thought I could- I was able to slowly but surely do my part to improve things. Not only do I get to help change the world, I get to EAT. I get to go to church in my back yard with mud caked hands. How sweet is that?
Now that's just my story about how food tickled my soul, but I said nothing about how it tickles my tastebuds... Well. I guess that's what this is all about anyway.
When I can't grow my own food, I do my best to get it from someone else's backyard. I am a fan of the Weston A. Price Foundation, although I don't agree with everything they say. I believe that meat eating is natural and very good for us, however I do not approve of the meat industry's practices and therefore I try to only eat meat from local sources that treat their animals with respect and kindness.
Anyway, I have a lot of fun. I'm always trying to learn new things about cooking, so I hope to keep improving and growing. Yum. I look forward to seeing what everyone else is doing!
I knew I was in good company...
I love Nourishing Traditions, it's part of what got this whole thing started for me. I am a huge advocate for raw dairy, and I find much of what they say to be true. I am also bothered by the culty flavor that the whole thing has taken on, and I also don't think that I need to dive in completely to be healthy. I remember reading about the prenatal diet, and I just couldn't do all the milk, eggs and oil every day. Not to mention my aversion to liver (basically the only food I can't stomach). I do the whole grain, raw milk, kombucha think daily, and I love that it is a simple and time-tested way of eating. Also, getting raw dairy requires that the farmers take really good care of their animals, which is never a bad thing. I don't, however, think that some wine and coffee on occasion is gonna hurt me, and I will never turn down a piece of pie (even if it does have white sugar and shortening in it). So it's all about balance.
Hi Grace, and welcome!
Don't worry about seeming weird around here, just because you view food in a spiritual fashion. Great food is a moving spiritual and sensual experience. Whether it is watching your fruit and veggies grow in the garden and eating them fresh and warm from the sun, or enjoying a nice shoulder roast from a 12-year old bull bison, you get to taste and experience so much more as your relationship with your food grows.
I find the Weston Price stuff interesting. He did some really fascinating work, and many people have built on that work over the years, but it kinda bothers me how his following is starting to become cult-like. Is that the part that you find yourself disagreeing? Have you read Nourishing Traditions?
If you like baking, keep your eyes out for Portlandpiper's recipes, he's way ahead of me in that area. Making bread is his therapy, and he's constantly experimenting, so feel free to ask questions.