In 2020, I settled into a community that is lousy with local food systems. Now, I’ve got local eggs and raw butter in my fridge and a quarter of happy beef in my freezer. This piece was the reminder I needed to exalt those items with curiosity and appreciation in the kitchen.
Thank you as always for your nudges toward the real.
I really appreciate the time it must take you to find the art you include! These little and likely authentic glimpses into a time before life and food were perverted so!
Thank you. Reaffirming. Inspiring. Come over for a chaga latte! Though, I’d have to pick you up in the middle of the Quetico since you can’t leave and I can’t get in. Also. I LOVE the beautiful art in this piece. I also appreciate reading the comments and your comments to the comments. (Is this a sentence? ). It feels like a conversation (that I desperately want), with like minded people, and people that I choose to learn from. Have a wonderful day everyone.
I would love to come over for a chaga latte! I'll start digging on my end, you on yours. We should meet up somewhere right? I love the comments here, too. Such a great bunch of humans. Enjoy your day, Esther :)
Thank you so much for this powerful reminder of what our consumer reality could be if we only paid attention to the prepackaged food we eat and understood how inconvenient it all really is. My mother's family were farmers in New Brunswick who really understood the power of homegrown food and what it gives us. A story told countless times in my family (we were eight) was when we paid my grandmother an unexpected visit and she didn't have enough food to feed us all with only two chicken legs. She pulled out her big pot and made chicken stew with potatoes, carrots, onions, and dumplings. It was simple, honest fare, and we all gobbled it up like it was the best thing we ever tasted. She fed 10 people that night, and there were still leftovers. My grandmother is long gone now, returned to the earth of her Creator. I wish I could have taken a peek inside her pantry and cookbooks (I vaguely remember a small handwritten notebook with recipes) and sat with her to learn what she knew, but I was too young. What a gift that would have been.
But that you ate her food and it became a part of you, too - that's really something. What a gorgeous story. I loved reading this, thank you, Louise. I remember when even stopping into someone's house ended up being a home cooked meal just as you described. Those women were so talented.
When I embarked on my real food journey, I had no regard for the source of my food. I very quickly came to understand this as a significant contributor to my experience with “food”. Intuitively, I bought the whole animal and learned piece by piece how to best honor & prepare it. Without this, I feel certain I would not have the regard for, understanding of, or skill for preparing real food. I would still be in bondage to food from sources not aligned with my soul. I would not be nourished in body, mind & spirit the way I now enjoy. Your words ring true! TY for your words!!
Wonderful testament to the wholeness of our connection to food, Andrea. It's not just macros or micros or knowing a great recipe. It's everything and that's what's so beautiful and nourishing. Thank you for sharing that.
I worked in the culinary industry for a long time and I was fortunate enough to work in private clubs and high end resorts where we purchased only the finest of ingredients and made incredible dishes. The art of cooking involves all of the senses and when they are all engaged the body responds with joy and a satisfied appetite. Our culture has turned mealtimes into grab and go offerings that fail to nourish any part of our humanness. It is my hope that we return to the dinner table where we all sit together and delight in the offerings set before us and truly nourish ourselves. It is the best way to honor those beautiful beings that grazed the land and then became nourishment for us. Sending love to you and yours.
I think it's happening. Maybe slowly, but it's there in the cracks and crevices - people returning to real food in their bigger excavation of what's real in general. The speed of technology and what's being held up as "a good life" may look good, but quickly sours in the mouth. Thank you for your wonderful comment, Bonnie.
There’s something really special about cooking and cooking and cooking day by day year-by-year and realizing that food is becoming more delicious. My husband has always been kind about my cooking and not criticizing but sometimes he’ll look up to say wow that’s really good and it was worth it.
I love your observation that our tastebuds are "a gift given to us by our God and one that corporations have maniacally harnessed to pervert and twist the connection between us and this beautiful earth and the creatures that nourish us." I saw the manipulation of tastebuds everyday as a teacher -- the cellophaned packaged warmed food dispensed in the cafeteria was literally repulsive. The school justified it because students could also choose a 'healthy' supplement like a piece of fruit and/or celery/carrot sticks -- which of course students never did because of their hijacked tastebuds.
It's just heartbreaking. It's so ubiquitous now that seeing a child, or an adult, eating whole nourishing foods is often met with quizzical looks and surprise. And, like you said, the schools, hospitals, workplaces perpetuate this garbage.
Thank you so much for identifying the art that accompanies your posts. The art offers a wealth of information and inspiration right along side those posts.
We’ve been ordering whole animals for the last couple of years and boy was it an adjustment at first! I’ve learned to hold every part of that animal sacred and cook it in a way that will honour it (and that everyone will enjoy eating 😆).
Many people are astonished that I cook every meal we eat with a 6 & 7 yr old in tow. I’m astonished at how much people don’t cook! What a life skill to pass over in the interest of time.
I hope to leave this legacy to my children…albeit a mere fraction of your level, I strive to continue learning and be natures student until my last breath.
Thank you for sharing and speaking about this topic. I pray everyone have the experience of cooking and it be a joyous one in unison with the food they are nourishing themselves with 🙏🏻
P.S. my birthday is next week and hubby is gifting me with a paid subscription (finally!!). Am wondering if I’ll be able to access past essays or only moving forward? So excited!!
Such a superb call to action!
In 2020, I settled into a community that is lousy with local food systems. Now, I’ve got local eggs and raw butter in my fridge and a quarter of happy beef in my freezer. This piece was the reminder I needed to exalt those items with curiosity and appreciation in the kitchen.
Thank you as always for your nudges toward the real.
Beautiful food in well intentioned hands and a grateful heart is the only recipe needed. So happy to read your comment, Whitney.
I don’t have a farm, but I have a farmer. Milk. Eggs. Meat. Vegetables. I love him. 🥛🥚🥩🥓🥒🥬
Glory be! :)
I really appreciate the time it must take you to find the art you include! These little and likely authentic glimpses into a time before life and food were perverted so!
I pour over these paintings!
They inspire me, too. Back when we had such reverence and connection to food.
Thank you. Reaffirming. Inspiring. Come over for a chaga latte! Though, I’d have to pick you up in the middle of the Quetico since you can’t leave and I can’t get in. Also. I LOVE the beautiful art in this piece. I also appreciate reading the comments and your comments to the comments. (Is this a sentence? ). It feels like a conversation (that I desperately want), with like minded people, and people that I choose to learn from. Have a wonderful day everyone.
I would love to come over for a chaga latte! I'll start digging on my end, you on yours. We should meet up somewhere right? I love the comments here, too. Such a great bunch of humans. Enjoy your day, Esther :)
reading this as the sun rises out on the deck. Full of goosebumps and tears of appreciation. Thank you for your beautiful words 🌞
Thank you, Maisie.
Grow/Raise/Harvest/Preserve Your Food, Your Future is in It!
Now more than ever!
Thank you so much for this powerful reminder of what our consumer reality could be if we only paid attention to the prepackaged food we eat and understood how inconvenient it all really is. My mother's family were farmers in New Brunswick who really understood the power of homegrown food and what it gives us. A story told countless times in my family (we were eight) was when we paid my grandmother an unexpected visit and she didn't have enough food to feed us all with only two chicken legs. She pulled out her big pot and made chicken stew with potatoes, carrots, onions, and dumplings. It was simple, honest fare, and we all gobbled it up like it was the best thing we ever tasted. She fed 10 people that night, and there were still leftovers. My grandmother is long gone now, returned to the earth of her Creator. I wish I could have taken a peek inside her pantry and cookbooks (I vaguely remember a small handwritten notebook with recipes) and sat with her to learn what she knew, but I was too young. What a gift that would have been.
But that you ate her food and it became a part of you, too - that's really something. What a gorgeous story. I loved reading this, thank you, Louise. I remember when even stopping into someone's house ended up being a home cooked meal just as you described. Those women were so talented.
When I embarked on my real food journey, I had no regard for the source of my food. I very quickly came to understand this as a significant contributor to my experience with “food”. Intuitively, I bought the whole animal and learned piece by piece how to best honor & prepare it. Without this, I feel certain I would not have the regard for, understanding of, or skill for preparing real food. I would still be in bondage to food from sources not aligned with my soul. I would not be nourished in body, mind & spirit the way I now enjoy. Your words ring true! TY for your words!!
Wonderful testament to the wholeness of our connection to food, Andrea. It's not just macros or micros or knowing a great recipe. It's everything and that's what's so beautiful and nourishing. Thank you for sharing that.
I worked in the culinary industry for a long time and I was fortunate enough to work in private clubs and high end resorts where we purchased only the finest of ingredients and made incredible dishes. The art of cooking involves all of the senses and when they are all engaged the body responds with joy and a satisfied appetite. Our culture has turned mealtimes into grab and go offerings that fail to nourish any part of our humanness. It is my hope that we return to the dinner table where we all sit together and delight in the offerings set before us and truly nourish ourselves. It is the best way to honor those beautiful beings that grazed the land and then became nourishment for us. Sending love to you and yours.
I think it's happening. Maybe slowly, but it's there in the cracks and crevices - people returning to real food in their bigger excavation of what's real in general. The speed of technology and what's being held up as "a good life" may look good, but quickly sours in the mouth. Thank you for your wonderful comment, Bonnie.
There’s something really special about cooking and cooking and cooking day by day year-by-year and realizing that food is becoming more delicious. My husband has always been kind about my cooking and not criticizing but sometimes he’ll look up to say wow that’s really good and it was worth it.
Isn't that lovely? The appreciation for the food and the cook and all that went into getting it to the table.
I'm going yo have to print copies of the artwork you featured. :-)
They're gorgeous!
Love this post. Thank you. Good food is medicine for the body and the soul.
Yes, it is. :)
I love your observation that our tastebuds are "a gift given to us by our God and one that corporations have maniacally harnessed to pervert and twist the connection between us and this beautiful earth and the creatures that nourish us." I saw the manipulation of tastebuds everyday as a teacher -- the cellophaned packaged warmed food dispensed in the cafeteria was literally repulsive. The school justified it because students could also choose a 'healthy' supplement like a piece of fruit and/or celery/carrot sticks -- which of course students never did because of their hijacked tastebuds.
It's just heartbreaking. It's so ubiquitous now that seeing a child, or an adult, eating whole nourishing foods is often met with quizzical looks and surprise. And, like you said, the schools, hospitals, workplaces perpetuate this garbage.
Thank you 💗
Thank you so much for identifying the art that accompanies your posts. The art offers a wealth of information and inspiration right along side those posts.
We’ve been ordering whole animals for the last couple of years and boy was it an adjustment at first! I’ve learned to hold every part of that animal sacred and cook it in a way that will honour it (and that everyone will enjoy eating 😆).
Many people are astonished that I cook every meal we eat with a 6 & 7 yr old in tow. I’m astonished at how much people don’t cook! What a life skill to pass over in the interest of time.
I hope to leave this legacy to my children…albeit a mere fraction of your level, I strive to continue learning and be natures student until my last breath.
Thank you for sharing and speaking about this topic. I pray everyone have the experience of cooking and it be a joyous one in unison with the food they are nourishing themselves with 🙏🏻
P.S. my birthday is next week and hubby is gifting me with a paid subscription (finally!!). Am wondering if I’ll be able to access past essays or only moving forward? So excited!!