I’ve been thinking of ways to introduce myself to this new community – as a novice cook and gardener, as a local foodie, or perhaps simply as someone who believes in the healing power of cooking from scratch.  But, while all of that is true, none of it tells you my journey.  And I happen to believe life is in the journey, and that when you share it with others, you start to build a community.  And to me, the local, slow food movement, cooking, growing – it is all about community.

So, I’ll keep my story brief, but it starts with an admission – I am a recovering attorney.  Basically, when I started law school, nearly all of my energy went into studying, arguing and trying to “get ahead.”  For four recent years of my life, I followed a career that I believed was my passion, all the while neglecting the part of me that needed to create something positive, to find joy, and to build a community.

But that part of me was persistent and fought to be heard.  I started wishing for a life where I could sow harmony in the world, and create more peace – not adversity, which was almost all the law had become for me.  It was a constant fight, and even when I believed in what I was fighting for, it was still an us vs. them approach to life, and that was not good for me.  My life was not abundant – with community, with health, or with joy.

So, almost two years ago, I took a plunge and walked away from the traditional practice of law.  Ever since then, my life has been growing more full.  I have discovered an unexpected joy in cooking.  I love the act of taking beautiful, fresh produce and creating something tasty and nourishing. I also experience abundant happiness in cooking for others.  Creating meals for my friends and family allows me to express my love and gratitude for them, and every time we eat together, our bond grows stronger.

During the last two years, I have also become committed to living a more sustainable life.  As I’m sure many of you have experienced, that is a long process, and not an easy one in our consumer-driven society.  But I’m trying.  I’m planting a garden this year, and shopping for my food as locally as possible.  I am excited to be a new part of the FarmersMarket.com community.  For my part, I am going to share my adventures in the kitchen and the garden, as well as local and sustainable inspirations, with the community.  I look forward to learning from all of you as my journey continues. 

I’ve discovered a secret – prepare yourselves. 

If you listen to Maroon 5 singing “Moves Like Jagger” while putting ingredients together in a crock-pot, you will start to believe that what you’re doing is not commonplace, not mundane – no, what you’re doing will suddenly feel alluring…sexy even. 

Trust me, eat wild, and do it the next time you put a hundred little boring things into a crock-pot.  Like I did with all of this –

(Exact amounts at the bottom of the post)

We had the good fortune of...

I realize that both of the recipes I have shared with the community have included meat, and, in fact, most of the meals I make these days do.   I have to be honest though, my relationship with eating animals has been ever evolving.  Even now, there are moments when I question what I’m doing when I pull a chicken leg out of the freezer.  Sometimes, my heart hurts.  Other times, I say a silent ‘thank you’ and go about preparing it.  For better or worse, this is where my journey has taken me. 

Eating...

I have to admit – I have a lot of food obsessions.  Take for instance, butter.  I love it.  I want to cook everything in it.  It is so yummy, and, obviously, so bad for me.  But so yummy.  You see my dilemma.  One of these days I’ll share my best comfort food recipes with you, and you’ll see – they all involve a significant amount of butter.

But now, it’s SPRING!  Or, at least it feels like it in Indiana.  And I’ll take it.  I needed something to break me out of my comfort food rut – the rut that...

I am over the moon to be sharing my first recipe post with you!  I had been holding on to this recipe for a while, not ever feeling like it was the right time to make it.  Then, FarmersMarket.com came calling, and I just knew – this recipe was absolutely perfect for my cooking introduction to my new locavore community.  It’s a little bit gourmet but still approachable, healthy, and of course, with ingredients easily found at the Market.  What do you guys think?

 I wish I could take a picture of...