Feast
You may not have noticed, but I post a lot about food.
We are a family of food lovers, fully embracing the idea of "Live to Eat, not Eat to Live". I know that there are those who view food as fuel and don't give much thought to it other than as sustenance, but honestly, that perspective has always been puzzling to me.
I come from a family that gardened extensively, hunted religiously and fished at every opportunity. We were a part of the "Slow Food" movement from jump street. My family is made up of Southern folks and Mexicans and using food as our love language is just ingrained in us.
When I met my husband, I was thrilled to learn that he appreciated food as much as I did. The growing of it, the ritual of preparation, the excitement of discovering new cuisines. We shared this love and took every opportunity to indulge and appreciate it together. A huge part of our love story centered around a restaurant called Dogwood; comfortable atmosphere, welcoming staff and food that was exciting, innovative and approachable all at once. Special occasions would find us there having a full dinner, trying new things we had never had before. More often than not we would find ourselves with just barely enough in our bank accounts to share an appetizer and one drink each at the bar, but those were some of my most favorite dates ever. If we had $30 between us, we would spend it there. It was the spot where Russell took me when he was trying to woo me back after we had a rough break-up. Good move on his part. It was the restaurant where we celebrated our wedding night with our tiny wedding party.
As the years have progressed, food has continued to be a big part of our lives. The joy that comes from having our own garden, the satisfaction of preparing a meal for guests, the excitement of trying a new restaurant. We have loved introducing our children to the cuisines that we enjoy and traveling with them so that they can experience the food culture of other places. People comment all the time about how impressed they are at the kinds of food that our kids eat. While there is no guarantee that they will like all the foods we want them to, giving them the opportunity to try new things sure does help. They see our love for food, the pleasure we take in it and it makes them curious and more open to those experiences.
We also hear comments like "Wow, you guys go out to eat a lot" or "You must spend a lot of money on fancy dinners!"
Yes, sometimes we do.
But we also meal plan every week. We schedule our breakfasts, lunches and dinners Sunday through Thursday. I buy what we need each week and we do our best to not waste food. We very rarely eat fast food. We buy local and shop at farmer's markets. We grow a lot of our own produce. And yes, we also thoroughly enjoy the RVA restaurant scene. We have many friends in this business and absolutely love supporting their delicious endeavors. We plan our vacations around destinations that have restaurants we want to visit. Chefs are our rock stars. We will 100% budget for a James Beard or Michelin Star restaurant. And hell yes, I'm gonna put on a fancy dress and take a bunch of pictures to share that experience because I LOVE IT. Traveling and Food is how we choose to spend time together as a family and I will not apologize for it.
If you know me well at all, you know that there isn't much I enjoy more than getting my hands dirty in my garden. There is nothing like turning over the soil, planting seeds and watching the fruits of your labors grow. It is a deeply rooted connection to my family, my heritage and my love for food. It is nourishment for my soul. I live for the smell of fresh tomato vines, the tiny buds bursting forth, the twice a day checks to see if anything is ready to pick. Then comes the harvest, the glorious gathering of the bounty. And next is the planning of how to use the harvest, how to get the most out of it. Soups, salsa, sauces, stocks, and dinner. Feast!
Sustenance, nourishment, preparation, growing, planning, preparing, sampling, experimenting, dining out: it is all soothing for the soul. It is all a celebration of life and love.
We are a family of food lovers, fully embracing the idea of "Live to Eat, not Eat to Live". I know that there are those who view food as fuel and don't give much thought to it other than as sustenance, but honestly, that perspective has always been puzzling to me.
I come from a family that gardened extensively, hunted religiously and fished at every opportunity. We were a part of the "Slow Food" movement from jump street. My family is made up of Southern folks and Mexicans and using food as our love language is just ingrained in us.
When I met my husband, I was thrilled to learn that he appreciated food as much as I did. The growing of it, the ritual of preparation, the excitement of discovering new cuisines. We shared this love and took every opportunity to indulge and appreciate it together. A huge part of our love story centered around a restaurant called Dogwood; comfortable atmosphere, welcoming staff and food that was exciting, innovative and approachable all at once. Special occasions would find us there having a full dinner, trying new things we had never had before. More often than not we would find ourselves with just barely enough in our bank accounts to share an appetizer and one drink each at the bar, but those were some of my most favorite dates ever. If we had $30 between us, we would spend it there. It was the spot where Russell took me when he was trying to woo me back after we had a rough break-up. Good move on his part. It was the restaurant where we celebrated our wedding night with our tiny wedding party.
As the years have progressed, food has continued to be a big part of our lives. The joy that comes from having our own garden, the satisfaction of preparing a meal for guests, the excitement of trying a new restaurant. We have loved introducing our children to the cuisines that we enjoy and traveling with them so that they can experience the food culture of other places. People comment all the time about how impressed they are at the kinds of food that our kids eat. While there is no guarantee that they will like all the foods we want them to, giving them the opportunity to try new things sure does help. They see our love for food, the pleasure we take in it and it makes them curious and more open to those experiences.
We also hear comments like "Wow, you guys go out to eat a lot" or "You must spend a lot of money on fancy dinners!"
Yes, sometimes we do.
But we also meal plan every week. We schedule our breakfasts, lunches and dinners Sunday through Thursday. I buy what we need each week and we do our best to not waste food. We very rarely eat fast food. We buy local and shop at farmer's markets. We grow a lot of our own produce. And yes, we also thoroughly enjoy the RVA restaurant scene. We have many friends in this business and absolutely love supporting their delicious endeavors. We plan our vacations around destinations that have restaurants we want to visit. Chefs are our rock stars. We will 100% budget for a James Beard or Michelin Star restaurant. And hell yes, I'm gonna put on a fancy dress and take a bunch of pictures to share that experience because I LOVE IT. Traveling and Food is how we choose to spend time together as a family and I will not apologize for it.
If you know me well at all, you know that there isn't much I enjoy more than getting my hands dirty in my garden. There is nothing like turning over the soil, planting seeds and watching the fruits of your labors grow. It is a deeply rooted connection to my family, my heritage and my love for food. It is nourishment for my soul. I live for the smell of fresh tomato vines, the tiny buds bursting forth, the twice a day checks to see if anything is ready to pick. Then comes the harvest, the glorious gathering of the bounty. And next is the planning of how to use the harvest, how to get the most out of it. Soups, salsa, sauces, stocks, and dinner. Feast!
Sustenance, nourishment, preparation, growing, planning, preparing, sampling, experimenting, dining out: it is all soothing for the soul. It is all a celebration of life and love.
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