Sacred Sustenance

Growing up in a household of three women where non-conformity was encouraged, we rarely sat down together for meals. Granted my mother was single and trying to go back to school, and always did her best to provide for my sister and me. But my mom is a rule breaker not a rule follower (which I love about her) and tradition whether it was collecting a set of china or adapting to the status quo was never high on her "to-do" list. 

So today, I find myself in the kitchen of my own home beginning to approach cooking, hostessing and creating meals for my husband and me with in a new way. However, being a non-conformist I like to think of recipes as loose guidelines to my creations rather than actual law! (which has caused some kitchen catastrophes) ANYway, the point Im trying to make is my recent realization (as I stand at the kitchen counter to eat my meals while checking email) is that I have a problem thinking of mealtime as sacred. I really want to honor my food, its origins and my body for that matter by taking time to relish it at the table with every meal. But its a struggle. 

So as we approach Thanksgiving, I am looking for resources to help inspire a lifestyle of true reverence for mealtime. (even if I am eating alone when my husband is working late) Here are a few blogs that have me finding the sacred in my sustenance:

Becoming Lola, What Kate Ate, Rambling Tart, Cooking with Chopin, Living with Elmo,

So help me out friends, what are your secrets to creating a sense of sacred in your mealtime. How do you relish your food and even your cooking creations??  Do you have favorite foodie blogs that inspire a new direction in your cuisine?? 

images: becoming lola, what kate ate 

Comments

[Traveling Mama]

I just love this! Yes, it's something so many of us struggle with! We were never very good at keeping mealtimes sacred until we moved to Morocco and our kids were home for lunch and my husband and I started working from home... kind of hard to not sit down together when we are all there! LOL! Plus I made every meal from scratch, by demand not choice, and no one wanted to miss out! I guess we just all got addicted to sitting down and actually looking at one another and talking. Now that we are in Denmark and our lives are busy with school (for all of us!) it's harder to make those mealtimes sacred, but we just keep doing it because that is when we really get to know one another!

[Elizabeth]

yay! loose guidelines=heather's special concoctions! (When Heather and her sis, Beth, and my sister and I shared a house together, my sister (a pretty formal cook) would laugh at the yummy mixtures the Spriggs girls would create called "concoctions." Not a formal chief then (or now), I just always wanted a bite :).

And of course you carry your creativity into cooking, Heather! You can't help it; you are an artist through and through.

I'm about to read some Genene Roth books on the subject of eating and spirituality. We could be book club buddies :)

[K...]

Heather! I love this.

This is so true. I'm a non-conformist in SO MANY WAYS, and it has definitely carried over into my approach and attitudes toward cooking and food. My mother is also a complete non-conformist, and we often had the same issue. Traditions, even related to food and eating, were not a high priority. Except for the fact that my mom is not the best cook ever, so when she found something she could make well...

Well, 20 years later and she STILL MAKES ROAST CHICKEN EVERY WEEK. Sometimes twice a week.

I'm more of a "guidelines" kind of girl, too. Which has lead to some really awful creations, I admit... And I rarely do things the same way with all the same ingredients twice! In fact, we often have what I like to call "Chicken Something," which is generally a conglomeration of whatever I happen to find that goes into the crockpot with the chicken. And sometimes it's "Beef Something" or whatever other kind of meat I have handy. The "Something" is usually a good thing, but there have been off days...

But I LOVE food blogs, and I actually try a lot of recipes I get from them.

About making mealtimes sacred I have two things (both of which I am still learning):

1. I read a very unique memoir recently called "Farm City," about a woman who has an urban garden/farm. I don't agree with ALL of her philosophies, but one of the things that the talked about was the importance of knowing where you food comes from and how that brings more sanctity to mealtime...

And the other thing she talked about was that after raising her meat birds, she felt the very highest tribute to their lives was to prepare the bird to the best of her ability and then share this very extravagantly prepared meal with her closest friends and family. I agree.

These philosophies have really helped shape my own, and my growing opinion that I personally REALLY need to start moving toward being closer toward the source of our food - I'd love to think that I could grow/raise all my own food, but let's be realistic... :O) However, I do think it is a great homage to the nourishment our food provides when we honor it by preparing it well and with intentionality. (If that makes sense.)

2. The second thing is super-simple. My mom's best friend, who is like a second mother to me, eats every dinner meal by candlelight. Not just one candle, either... Like 10. EVERY. SINGLE. DINNER. The girls loved this (and so did I) when we were at her house, so we have begun eating by candlelight several times a week. Somehow, it brings a sanctity, quiet, and clarity to meal time simply by turning off the electricity and lighting a few candles. We seem to connect more deeply, and enjoy our food more.

And lastly, since I've already written a novel in comment form, I thought I'd share a of my favorite food blog... It won't let me link them! :O/ So here are the names:

Orangette

365 Days of Crockpotting

The Tasty Kitchen Blog

Eat Me, Delicious

Food Network Recipes

SophistiMom

[Heather]

dear girl elizabeth, you are so sweet to share this little tidbit about me. i debated whether or not share "concoctions" here! im trying so hard to be more organized and thoughtful. the book club sounds great!! :) sign me up.

[Krista]

I'm so glad you're embracing this part of your life, Heather. :-) How fun to create new traditions for yourself and figure out what makes your heart happy when it comes to meals and food. I'm so glad you find inspiration at my blog. The feeling is VERY mutual. :-)

[Twiggs]

hello heather!! these images are so tasteful!! really good... until i joined flickr i had never payed great attention to food photography and now i feel that is somethings sometimes so difficult. well... concerning mealtime, i was born with a very conformist mother which spent all her time cleaning and more cleaning & cooking. and i grew up a non conformist. i remember being six and thinking for myself "i don't want to get married and i want to live in NY" :) so years after, i am living in lisbon and when started to live by myself i had to learn to cook and found it pretty relaxing. nowadays mealtime is that time to sit together, my & "hubby" (without a wedding ring) and talk/listen to the news... and comment! i appreciate that time, because it is also a relaxing moment for us. after that we go back to our things, cleaning the kitchen (for him) and news, blogging, flickring.... for me :) have a tasteful day!!! twiggs

[Sofie from Envelop.eu]

thanks for sharing this!
my favorite foodblog: Lucullian Delights