Saturday, January 15, 2011

The First Post

The first post of a new blog.

One has to wonder if anyone will ever read this first post. Should I spill my guts and tell you my life's story or should I let it unfold through the natural conversation as the blog continues? Should I tell you why I am starting the blog or just jump in feet first? Hmmm. Feet first in a food blog? No, this blog isn't about wine making!  Maybe I should just give you a little background.

Several years ago, my then five year old son had been coughing and coughing through two winters. Every military doctor we saw asked if he had been diagnosed with asthma, but no one was actually willing to say he had it, though he was put on all kind of asthma medications. Each spring as the weather warmed, we weaned him off of the medications and he stayed well until the cold weather approached. At the end of the second winter, at age five, he was officially diagnosed with asthma. In a way, I felt relieved that I finally knew what was going on. At least it had a name.

Upon further reflection and a bit of research, I decided that this child did not need to be on so many medications. There had to be a way to get him free. One of his classmate's mother and I were talking one day and I discovered that her youngest child was also diagnosed with asthma, though his symptoms had been reduced dramatically with one simple change in their diet. Excited, I asked about this change. Would you like to know what it was? They changed from store bought milk to raw, completely unprocessed milk. That was it.

I went home and researched and finally decided we needed to try it. It was March in the southeastern United States and the weather was warming up. The warming and beginning the raw milk coincided. We weaned my son off of the medications as usual and continued the farm fresh milk. My son has not had to go back to his medications. He is now 11.

That was the beginning of my journey toward raw, whole, real, back-to-nature food.

I'll share more of our story as we go along. Right now, let's talk about today. Today, I have three stocks cooking on the stove. Stock from bones is some of the best, most nutrient dense foods out there. Feet and heads of most animals are where you will find the most gelatin, which is where you will find the real nutrition. Well, I don't have any of those, but I did find a bunch of turkey necks on sale and got those in a pot with some sage, salt, and apple cider vinegar (the acid is needed to get the nutrition to come out of the bones into the broth). I have a pork rib bone stock going, started after we had some awesome bone-in ribs a couple of nights ago. I also have a huge ham bone going as well. While I have made stock many times over the years since I started my whole food journey, this is the first winter I am really getting into it. It adds flavor to rice or pasta, is an excellent base for any homemade soup, and can even be used to steam whatever it is you are steaming! Bone broths have been used by primitive people and common people for millenia, prized for it's life giving properties. It stretches your food dollars as well. Who can argue with that?

I suppose I should go now and pull that luscious meat off of the bones and strain (clarify) the stocks before freezing them. I look forward to continuing this journey with you.

Have a Blessed Day!

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