This food changed my life
The style of cooking I have honed in the last decade–plant heavy, anchored by grains and legumes, big flavors, citrusy and punchy–has changed my life.
I’ve always loved food and found great pleasure from eating. For much of my life, concurrent to that pleasure was a somewhat painful relationship. What I ate, when I ate it, how much I ate–these questions took up a lot of brain space. Food was an obsession that, at times, haunted me.
Learning how to turn simple, nourishing, affordable ingredients into delicious meals has shifted my orientation towards food and self—from a fraught push and pull dynamic to an easeful dance. Learning how to work with the full spectrum of nature’s medicine—seeds, nuts, spices, citrus, herbs, grains, vegetables, legumes—is life-changing.
A few bites of basmati rice, chickpeas, and chard with a pinch of salt and squeeze of lime during an afternoon slump can completely re-tune my nervous system, bring me into my body, and calm my thoughts. When I live in intimate relationship with these plant medicines, my life feels so much better.
The other thing about this food is–it’s not all I eat. I love going to restaurants: wood-fired margherita pizza, carne asada burritos from my neighborhood taco truck, fried chicken sandwiches at Milk Drunk. I love it all. I love cornflakes and oreos with milk and Australian licorice. And I eat it!
But by staying close to my food–the grains, legumes, and vegetables that I call friends–my ability to digest and take nourishment from all food expands tremendously.
This food is the pulse. It is not a restriction, it is not the only thing I eat, but it is my foundation. It is what I return to and it holds me.
It seems very simple, and in many ways, it is. But it is also incredibly intentional.
Through years of careful study, I know exactly what I’m going for. I want my braised greens to sing, chickpeas cooked to perfect creaminess, flatbread chewy and charred, and basmati rice just the right texture. And I know how to coax that perfect note with every decision I make in the kitchen. This food is dialed in, and its deliciousness is precisely what makes it such a powerful tool for my well-being.
This is what I want to share with you. When I teach cooking, I’m teaching how to transform our most basic plant allies into companions, how to weave them into the fabric of your life. I teach the way I taste and notice and experiment–how to move and dance with your kitchen. This orientation has been the biggest gift in my life. I’m so excited to share it with you.
More info and ticketing for my October 4th Favorites! Cooking Class here…
