The food file is dedicated to my folks, Helen & Duncan Scott known to each other ever so lovingly as "Leencha & Dunc."
Okay let's get personal... a few of my friends have told me that I should reveal a little more about my life through the blog. While I can't see how that could be terribly exciting, I have been inspired recently by my trip down south. As a student midwife, studying through a Utah based college and living in Canada, I find that there are lots of challenges to gaining the clinical experience needed to complete the program. As do most of my Canadian peers in Midwifery. So I was recently blessed enough to be able to haul off to Utah by myself in order to immerse myself in what I love more than I can describe... birth
While off on this magical journey, I was able to get lots of schoolwork done and learn practical skills that would have been really difficult to get here at home. One of my favorite classes was a Holistic Health class taught by the lovely Marilyn Skousken (MCU's teacher of the year). I had carried this class around for the full year we are allowed and the last chunk of the class required that we "try" some whole foods skills for ourselves. After all, I can't suggest that a pregnant Mama eat home made yogurt unless I'm willing to teach her how to make it...
I'm too embarrassed yet to share with you my yogurt story so the first in the file is about...
I really enjoyed writing about the experience of trying these recipes and techniques. The act connected me to my Mom in a way that has left me melancholy and aching for her. Fall was always our best time of year. I wish I'd known how short her life was going to be so I could have appreciated her more when she was with us. I hope you will enjoy reading about my escapades with food. Please feel free to post links to foody sites you love. I'd love to learn more about how others feel about the subject.
...Broth
My favorite time of year is and has always been fall. My favorite memories of my childhood includes the beautiful aroma of hot soup. While many of my classmates were lucky if a can of campbell’s were opened, I would rush home on the cool fall days taking the occasional kick at the orange and red piles of leaves. Like clockwork I would enter the house of aroma and turn on The Flintstones! Of course at the time I can remember pretending to hate it and would complain that I wanted what everyone else had. But deep down I loved it and it made me feel really special because it was something she did for her children out of a wish to make and keep us healthy.
This is a skill that I did pick up willingly and which seemed to come far more naturally than say knitting or making yogurt. And my children take it in stride. Even as young adults, they gobble up the soups as often as possible.
My soup begins with broth. Depending on the protein source I will cook it for half a day. Some would argue that cooking it too much takes away too many of the nutrients. However, upon the initial cooking the nutrients from the bones make their way into the broth. Nutrients are added back in when you add the most important part, the veggies. For this project I made my favorite base... Chicken! Farm raised (indirectly by me:), cage free and well cared for, my stock begins with the eating of the initial meal... chicken with mashed potatoes and taber corn. As supper is consumed, the roasting of the remaining meat continues. During the cleanup, the boiling down begins and continues until bedtime. The next morning, the meat is removed and the bones are boiled bare to make the liquid base as calcium rich as possible.
Soup is something I can always rely on doing a good job with. And it keeps me connected to a very special lady... Mom ~ Diane's Favorite Soup
