Mommy is a foodie

Mommy came to the realization a few days ago that she has become a foodie.  She doesn't want to just prepare a meal, she wants to prepare a good meal and enjoy it.  And she means good in taste AND good in nutrition.

Thinking through the last few years, she realized that the path to becoming a foodie has been a gradual one.  The three years of preschool/kindergarten that Sissy spent at a Waldorf school may not have been the starting point, but it was certainly a push in the right direction.  Imagine a whole school filled with people that eat real food, know where it comes from and grow some of it themselves.

The gradual expansion of our vegetable garden, including the switch to Square Foot Gardening, means she thinks about where some of our food is coming from, and when it should be coming.  And then she joined the Slow Food movement, reducing the amount of preprocessed food coming into the house.  Since she does most of the grocery shopping, this is an easy step in the right direction.  She's started paying attention to the Dirty Dozen list (in a good year, we'll grow half of that list ourselves) and buying some organic produce, eggs and meat.

Last week, she watched an episode of a cooking show, which was a first for her.  She really watched it for the guest star, but came away with a recipe, which she adapted slightly to make a delicious meal for everybody last night.  (One that she says will definitely be made again.)  But it was the process of watching the show and adapting the recipe that made her realize that the term "foodie" does apply to her.

Coming up for air

After our road trip this summer, we suddenly whooshed through gardening season and raking season, and here were are, unexpectedly at the beginning of winter already.  There are rain barrels still to bring in and remnants of corn stalks and okra plants to compost, along with others.  But Mommy and Sissy took most of November off from gardening to successfully participate in NaNoWriMo. 

Sissy participated with a word count appropriate to her age and grade level, and Mommy did the full 50,000 words.  They were both very excited to participate, and even more excited when they finished their stories.  Now that those are done, and Mommy's done with her holiday shopping, she's promised to help type my blog more often.