Food, Philosophy And Fanaticism

Ok, I’ll describe my approach to food and cooking. I truly love the process of cooking…I love to think about cooking, and I love to plan when and what I’ll be cooking. Without over-dramatizing, I think of cooking like I think of live music…the spontaneous creation of something that no one can ever create exactly the same way again. A creative energy is tapped into, then released. Ingredients are like the notes and instruments used in a certain way, or not, to create a unique experience.

The way my life is organized these days I cook for the children who attend my home daycare, and for my husband Scott and myself. On a weekly basis I plan all our meals in advance, then shop and schedule time to actually do the food preparation. With it all planned in advance, there is no last minute frantic “What’s to eat?!” When everything goes according to plan, I can get lunch and dinner served within minutes of getting into the kitchen. The trick is to be flexible and open-minded about when things are prepped. It may be 8:00 in the morning when I’m mincing garlic, or making a salad. When I have the time, that’s when I do it. I break up the meal into its component steps, and fit the small steps in throughout the day. This way cooking is not a big production. Many times the meals Scott and I have are the same – or similar – to what I prepare for the daycare children, sometimes they share some common ingredients, and sometimes they are completely dissimilar.

I prefer having control over the ingredients and the flavors of the food that I’m eating and feeding to people. To surrender that would make me feel very out of control. I’m not a fanatic by any means, but when I can ensure that we are eating healthy, tasty, good quality food, I feel like I’m doing a good thing for myself and those I love. I cook real food with a creative bent. I choose fresh, less processed ingredients, and whole grains whenever possible and practical. I like to mix up the ingredients. I’m not insistent that things are absolutely authentic. I do lots of “in the style of…” cooking. Much of my food creativity is inspired by a cuisine, or an ingredient, and then I build on that until I am inspired about what I want to cook, and how.

I must admit I have the ‘luxury’ of working at home, so I have more control (barring cranky babies or out-of-control toddlers) over where and how I spend the hours of my workday. Sometimes I can even involve the children (depending upon age and demeanor) with food preparation. At the very least I occasionally let some of the children observe me cooking. It is sad for me to see how many 5 year olds have never seen an ear of corn in its husk or a carrot being grated! Children of today are not learning a connection to the food they eat because so much of it comes pre-made from a bag or a box. They are not learning that food is something that comes from ingredients, and action…and love. It’s a mission of mine to teach the children in my care about real food…that hamburgers are made from ground meat…not purchased through a window already made.

Children who are not exposed to a wide array of flavors and textures from an early age and consistently will never learn to be comfortable with food. Nutrition is easy to “camouflage” when cooking for children. Kids don’t automatically dislike vegetables or cereal that doesn’t taste like candy. It’s just that parents cave in rather than encourage their child do the right thing by eating something healthy. A child will eventually get hungry enough to eat what the parent provides…and they will not starve in the meantime. As a daycare provider I find that parents tend to forget that they are in charge…(especially at mealtime) and even though a child may balk at the parent’s insistence on feeding good food, ultimately it is the responsibility of a parent to see that her child receives proper nutrition.

A parent wouldn’t choose a daycare, preschool or doctor she knew was substandard. Yet day after day, meal after meal parents choose to feed their growing children non-nutritious food made from who-knows-what! Every day we hear the horror stories about the rising rate of childhood obesity…I don’t think the reason for that is much of a mystery. Food fulfills as much of an emotional need in us as it does a physical one, so don't we want to fulfill it showing respect for our entire self? I hope I can make a difference in these children whose lives I touch by teaching them that food and the act of preparing it is an important part of life.

Food doesn’t need to be fancy to be good, but it must be wholesome.

Cooking doesn’t need to be complicated, but uncomplicated doesn’t need to be common.

My food mission statement: Cooking is an act of caretaking which feeds the body and spirit.