Recipes

I love to cook.  I love experimenting with recipes, and gathering ingredients, whether at the grocery store, in my garden, or out in nature (foraging). My goal with all of the recipes I post is to promote the use of whole, local and seasonal ingredients. I believe that by cooking this way, we can promote health for our families and the environment.  Cooking is the most pure and simple for of magic, an alchemical way to show our love and nourish our bodies and souls.

A Note on Special Diets

I realize many people follow a variety of diets, from vegetarian to vegan to paleo and everything in between.  I believe all of these ways of eating have merit, and I applaud anyone who is trying to do the best for their bodies and/or the environment through food. Rather, I focus on what all of these lifestyles have in common: a commitment to sustainable, and minimally processed foods. I truly believe there is no one size fits all diet: everyone needs to find their bliss.  I personally identified as a vegetarian for much of my life. I still only eat a very small amount of sustainably produced meat, because that is what I feel is best for my body and the environment.  My husband, on the other hand, chooses to follow a more Paleolithic style of diet.  Mealtimes in our house can be interesting, but we always seek the common ground first: fruits, vegetables, nuts...you get the idea. 

In a nutshell, what I am saying is I am not here to judge anyone who is eating in a thoughtful and conscientious way.  Rather, I will try to be inclusive, by providing a variety of recipes that apply to a variety of eating styles and palettes, and I will try to label them appropriately.  And of course, I believe that there is room for treats--especially for the active homesteading family!  However, I would much rather feed my family a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies made with organic ingredients and love, rather than your run-of-the-mill packaged cookie that tastes like cardboard dipped in frosting.  Again, I will make an effort to include recipes which are conventional, gluten-free, vegan, and otherwise in order to make my blog inclusive to all. 

Happy cooking!  Click the "recipe" label on the right hand panel to access the recipe index.  Special diets are notated in the title with the following abbreviation:

V=Vegetarian, VG=Vegan, P=Paleo, GF=Gluten Free.  The * symbol in front of any abbreviation means it can be meet specifications with a simple substitution.