The "Rules"

David de Rothschild sailed the world in a boat made entirely out of plastic. Julie Powell blogged and cooked through all Julia Child's recipes.  Morgan Spurlock super-sized everything. Ed Begley Jr. is off-griding, Michael Pollan skirts supermarkets in squares. 

The Rothschilds aren’t funding my site (Darn!) and boats make me claustrophobic. Julia has already been idolized. I am trying hard not to be super-sized and my husband has threatened to leave me, or at least get a separate residence (no, really), if I ever install a composting toilet inside our house. And I do not think sustainable food is only accessible to the elite…So, what are my rules?

Image from Liberationwellnessblog.com. In the public domain.

1)Cheaper nuggets: All of the menus will be less than three dollars a person, or less than two entrees and a drink from fast food restaurants. Some weeks I will even feature a Gold nugget menu where the meal is under $1.50 a person.

2)Local and Organic: Sometimes where I live it is easy to eat locally or to eat organically, but not always to combine the two. I will try my darndest  for majority of my ingredients to be  locally sourced organic food from within my state.

3) Omnivorous - For six years I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian with reasons including reducing methane gases, treating animals and meat processing workers justly, and minimizing water contamination. But in Oklahoma, there isn’t an abundance of lentil farmers (if you know one, let me know, I'd love to interview them!). And commercially made meat substitutes aren't exactly natural fare. There is also a lot of ecological benefit to including multiple animals in our food chains and farms. See Joel Salatin, owner of Polyface farms or Novella Carpenter on Why I Eat Meat. So I am an omnivore, trying to be an ethical omnivore.

4)Kid friendly- Kids are the most challenging food critics. My theories are that they have the most sensitive taste buds with no tolerance for bland-waxy-stale supermarket flavors.  They like uniform textures, simplicity, and the known. Too many kids also have had their taste-buds ambushed by the food chemistry industry. We must gently remind that a carrot is more nourishing and natural than a cheese puff.  It may take some time, but I think inherently we all like whole food and will gravitate back to that if that is what we are predominately offered. French Kids Eat Everything has some great suggestions for picky eaters (however, like the author I too am weary of the making babies and toddlers wean early or be quick to get on scheduled feedings). Rest assured, these recipes are kid-tested and approved!

6) Food and fun to share- Food builds community and brings people together. The best thing about a meal is sharing it with others, therefore, all of the recipes are service for six. I also explore how gathering and preparing of food can be restored to  being a festive or communal activity, in spite of, or perhaps because of, our so busy lives. And I want to hear your beautiful farm fresh stories too!

To celebrate our launch and to thank you for submitting your own words, now through October 5th any essay submitted will be entered to win $20 of Oklahoma Food Coop products!

We are so excited to have you here. I hope you will keep peering over our table and cooking and sharing your own cheaper nuggets!