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| ISSUE NO. 685 |
| DOES ANYONE ELSE FEEL . . . like you're a little (or a lot) lost right now? Like you were somehow given the wrong map that you've been diligently following, only to find yourself alone and deep in the woods with a lack of survival skills? We're here to ground you. Today's metaphor uses a walk in the woods, but it's equally applicable to the kitchen (where we are going to wind up, if you'll stick with us), and to life in general lately, as we enter each new day under the constraints of late stage capitalism, predicated on a principle of perpetual growth that we know to be unrealistic and incompatible with life itself. Wherever you find yourself, it's important tap into your deep knowing to find your way. If you are literally lost in the woods, experts recommend the acronym STOP - Stop, Think, Observe, Plan - which is something you can employ in other areas of your life, as well. First, recognize that you are not alone. When you stop for a second and close your eyes and take a few deep, slow breaths, you can feel the connections that we have - not just with other humans, but with the trees, the birds, the insects, the flowing water, the wind - all of life buzzing around us, teeming with energy in a full ecosystem. We have been taught to separate ourselves from these elements, but at our peril. We tap into our collective power when we acknowledge that we are not separate, but rather deeply connected and dependent on each other. Next - and this is really helpful if you are literally lost in the woods - stay put. It may seem counterintuitive, but if you stay where you are, it's easier for people to find you. Take some deep breaths. As you ground yourself, take stock of your surroundings. Don't overexert yourself. And settle into a place of shelter - perhaps near a distinctive rock, or a tree. When you have your basic needs covered, it allows you to think and observe more clearly. Finally, plan. Now that you have your 'home base,' even if you do venture out and don't feel confident you are on the right path, you can leave a trace and find your way back to where you were. In the kitchen, we can utilize the same principles. There used to be regular, ritualized time and space devoted to the passing down of wisdom from one generation to the next. Each day - out of necessity - people would prepare a collection of simple staples (think: the bread-like product of any and every culture, rice and beans, some sort of porridge, etc.) that could fuel their families. When you make the same thing - over and over and over again - modern culture whispers in our ears that it becomes boring. But in many cultures, those simple staples become the specialty that one can't live without. In fact, it's the dish that - expressly because of the repetition - people master in a way that can't be rushed or achieved in any other way. It becomes a part of who we are. Somewhere along the way, many of us became severed from this generational wisdom (often by design to separate us from our survival superpowers) - in which case we may need to start from scratch and lean on kin (the expansive definition that goes beyond blood relatives) to re-establish these rituals of care and creation. Last week, when we asked you how you managed to cook less, so many people referred back to their staple meals. These were the items that, even when they were stressed or exhausted, they could easily go back to and reset: greek salad, 6 (or 7 or 8) minute eggs, breakfast for dinner, a massive pot of beans (which can be cooked any which way and anchor many meals). Others shared a cadence to their meal prep and planning, whether chopping all of their vegetables on Sunday, or having one day designated to a specific task to make the week manageable (i.e. ambitious recipe, dish they know how to make by heart, frozen protein, frozen meal, pizza dough). As we set our hearts and minds toward a Cook Along, we are taking a moment to marinate in this space...wondering how we can all master some simple staples, the ones that can be leaned on to nourish us when money, energy, and / or time are tight. The meals that can remind us that we are all connected and fuel us through whatever comes - together. From there, we may eventually expand our repertoire, but do so in a grounded and thoughtful way, always working our way back to our landmark if we need to. Reorienting ourselves in the kitchen may seem on a spectrum from frivolous to supremely privileged, when so many lack access to food and shelter. But feeding ourselves and others is a basic form of survival and gratitude for this web of connection, of which we all are a part. And for building our way back to a system of living tied to the needs and constraints of our world. In community, Tay + Dor |
tidbits...resources on anti-racism, environmentalism and food culture AKA stuff we're reading / listening to / watching / noticing / thinking about / captivated by this Tuesday . . . Christiana Figueres's converastion with Krista Tippett, Ecological Hope, and Spiritual Evolution, offers an antidote to despair. |
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