I know, that title is confusing. But stick with me here for a moment. When I was in high school we had a family friend who was of Italian heritage. She didn’t cook often, but when she did it was amazing. It was not so much that the food she made was any different than [...]
So many of my food memories revolve around brand names. Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. Dannon yogurt. Schwann’s ice cream. Kraft Shake ‘n Bake. I am a child of the 90s so it was almost inevitable, but I haven’t eaten macaroni and cheese in years, yogurt tends to be homemade here, and ice cream just doesn’t [...]
If you’re familiar with Nourishing Traditions then you’ve certainly heard of soaking grains. I personally believe that soaking is just a half-step towards the better option of fermentation, which you can read more about here. That said, sometimes I want to soak something because, you know, I accidentally killed my sourdough starter… or other better [...]
Sometimes I miss cereal. That’s not to say that I haven’t bought it out of desperation here and there, but most of the time my cereal-buying experience goes something like this: I think “Cereal sounds good!” When I make that week’s trip to the grocery store I go down the cereal aisle with a spring [...]
I received a pre-release copy of a book on feeding children last week. I read through it and enjoyed it. Most of it contained information I had already read in the many books and websites I had read on traditional foods. Some of it was new information or things I might reference again and again [...]
I’m sure it’s already a dead giveaway, but I’m a lover of all things old timey. I like the slow and simple life of those who lived before computers and electronic appliances and large-scale grocery stores. So it’s no surprise, I’m sure, that I am enthusiastically collecting cast-iron cookware. Now, you might be thinking that [...]
It is hard to see why we need a food culture unless we understand what one really is and where it comes from. Certainly those regions that do have their own food culture fully intact might not even recognize the term ‘food culture’. Food culture is a connection to food in a pure and deep [...]
There is no doubt that our current American culture lacks a true food culture, as so aptly pointed out by Eddie. We are a country of immigrants. We do come from many backgrounds. We are a melting pot. But I don’t think those are the reasons we lack a food culture. My theory is a [...]
There are times when it is easy to show hospitality through a meal. The dishes are all done, the children have been cared for, laundry is put away, and the floor is clean. And then there are times when it’s not so easy. Discerning the difference between hard but doable and truly impossible without neglecting [...]
What do you do when a neighbor puts lots of homegrown pork plus lard on the community market? If you’re us you say “We’ll take whatever you’ve got after everyone else gets what they want.” So naturally 90 pounds of ground sausage and pork become yours. So right now we’re putting up pork. We do [...]