Y’all know I enjoy preparing the fuel for these bodies I have the privilege of serving here. But your girl has never cooked this much in. my. life. We have had a grand total of ONE meal ordered out since this staying at home business took off. IT’S A LOT. Even though I thoroughly enjoy preparing food and cooking, it’s not always easy. I want to share with you some of the things that have been carrying me through. I’m finding encouragement by seeing YOU cook. I’m gaining some inspiration from some food documentaries. I’m getting energy and ideas from other accounts that I love and seeing their yummy creations. I will tag a few here (Tap the pic to see for some more inspo).
Preparing food is truly a luxury. In this modern age, it, along with other household work, has become painted as drudgery instead. Friend, I’m not saying it’s easy, at all, but cultivating, collecting, and creating dishes that nourish our bodies is in no way something we must begrudge. That is not how it was meant to be.
Hearing your stories of becoming more equipped in the kitchen through this has brought me to cheers and tears. Seeing you get more comfortable with ingredients is joy making. Watching you become more empowered is giving me life.
This is not a new fad. It’s a return to timelessness. It’s not a throwback. It doesn’t have to be. Two generations ago, having a meal not prepared at home and by scratch was uncommon. A few generations before that, it was pretty much unheard of outside of a meal prepared by another friend or family member in the community. In their home.
We’re taking back our plates. Our cupboards. Our counters. Our family time. Our mealtime. Our creativity. Our abilities. Our cultures. Our traditions. Our health.
Gramma wasn’t doing fruitless labor. She was bringing generations of the teaching and practices of those who came before her. To feed her family. And connect with them around a table. Let’s continue to bring their cultures, traditions, wisdom, and practices back into our daily lives. We see you, Omas, Babas, Nanas, Bibis, Abuelitas, Babushkas, Sobos, Big Mamas, Nonnas, Grannies, Memaws, Yiayias, Lolas … We honor you. What was your grandma known by?