Character and Integrity

I consider myself to be a tireless advocate of the kitchen. The more I go, the more I learn and believe in what I'm talking about. I truly believe we can elevate our quality of life by taking the time to prepare home cooked meals with whole ingredients from scratch. By doing this we encourage diginity and ground ourselves. The habits we form are what make us who we are. Our way of life = Our quality of life.

Sometimes the reason we do something is because we don't know any better. We do know better, in this case, we just need to look back a generation or two at history. Look back to our great grandparents - what they cooked and how they ate. Good food is not fast, it takes time. It doesn't come in a box or a bag.

Food should be made by hand; It is an extension of ourselves. A good working, productive kitchen shows character and integrity. For our soul, it should calm us and restore us through our hands and our senses. Just take the time to think about what comes from your kitchen. What kind of a place is it? Is it actually a place or a reheating zone? Do you eat there? Does your kitchen sustain you or is it just a room in your house? What is your relationship with your kitchen? When was the last time you made a meal from scratch? I love to cook and it's taken me time to reform my eating habits to my thinking. It's worth it.

Thankful for Integrity

My grandmother had a way of being thankful to someone that I didn't truly appreciate until I got much older. She would instinctively know how much time a person - an artist, chef, or any creative person - put into something and for that she would always show them appreciation with a very direct thank-you, looking them in the eye and asking them questions about it. Looking back, I could relate, I knew what she was getting at and why she was thankful. Her thought was 'that person cared enough to take the time, which means they care about what they're doing. They were not just flinging something around willy-nilly to get it over with.' It was their creation and giving time and attention is showing you care about it - know that. I am glad that I got this, because I feel like I know when someone really cares about what they are doing, including me.