Mission. Slowly Forming.

I'm sensing a new mission in life slowly forming. I'm no gourmet cook, but I have friends who are amazed that I cook at all, because they don't. I feel like I could teach them some basic skills to feed themselves and their families better. And I'm reading more and learning more all the time about Traditional Food, and wanting to spread that "gospel". So I'm thinking about how to do those things.

The very first thing I *must* do is find a class, or someone to teach me, basic knife skills. My knife skills stink. I know Sur La Table has them, but that's a day trip, and not too cheap. And they seem to be always full/waitlisted. But perhaps I could get a local chef friend, or my aunt the chef, or even my brother to come over and teach a class for me & some friends.

At a Celtic Spirituality workshop this summer, I created the attached "Cook's Prayer". It sort of sums up my approach to food these days:

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Cook's Prayer
Bless me in the preparation of food for myself and my family.
Thank you for your bounty. Thank you for the knife that prepares it.
Let the preparation and eating of your bounty reflect the way you nurture our souls.
Bless the healing of our bodies through the bounty of your earth.
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Food isn't merely sustenance, or pleasure, or comfort, although it is definitely those things as well, but it is primarily health-giving, life-giving, and healing. When processed non-foods are eaten, they are not merely filling or neutral, they are actively harming the body. It never, ever, boils down to simple calories. What you put in your mouth is either giving you health and healing, or it is harming you. Period.

As time goes on, I'll be cogitating about what I need to do and how to go about doing it. I'm sure you'll "hear" about it here!