Real Food
Unfortunately, we now live in a time where we must distinguish between "food" and "real food". "Food" seems to refer to just about anything you are told you put in your mouth. It may or may not have a shelf life of 32 years! "Real food" refers to that which nature provides to sustain us. It is deeply nourishing and minimally processed. It may be raw or it may be cooked slowly for hours after a day of soaking. It may be organic and/or locally grown. You know real food when you prepare it. You know real food when you eat it. In the end, real food satisfies and nourishes so that you have the strength and energy to work toward your life's goals.
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Cooking and Baking with Fire
Earth Oven or Cob Oven - Notes, links, books, videos and feedback from individuals making their own earth ovens.
Good Time Stove Company - Suggested to us by one of our blog readers, this is a family business in Massachusetts that restores authentic old stoves of every kind. They can provide any stove service or part and advise on installation and other issues. Take the tour, read the testimonials and read the vintage booklet on how to cook on a woodburning stove.
Going Back in Time with Bread - Earth Oven - An interesting description complete with lots of photos of a bread baker at a Celtic re-enactment. He built a small oven in the ground and baked a number of loaves of bread. Eventually, as he got a feel for the oven, the loaves turned out beautifully. He even made butter to go with the bread. Do read the comments as they contain very useful information about how to build this particular small oven and personal experiences with Kiki Denzer type earth ovens.
Masonry Stove Builders - Lots of photos, books and links regarding a wide variety of wood fired outdoor ovens as well as some information and links regarding bread baking. A great resource.
Meling Ranch offers family style food cooked over a wood-fired stove - This photo essay of the staff at this ranch in Mexico preparing breakfast on a wood burning cook stove provides helpful information and conveys the idea that working with a wood fired stove is very doable. You just need to know your cooking requirements and the varying heat of the burners you have available.
Natural Building Network - Suggestions by Ianto Evans on how to effectively build cob houses for cold climates.
Photos of a Beautiful Fire Pit - I came across these photos of an inspiringly beautiful and well thought out fire pit. I have had trouble fining good photos to guide me as we build ours and so thought these were worth posting. He has a nice kitchen too!
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Cooking Teachers, Recipe Collections and Suppliers
General
All Recipes - There are over 40,000 recipes on this site, all free and all geared towards the home cook. I often study variations on recipes to get ideas for creating my own. That is easy to do on this enormous site by just clicking from one recipe to the next. It is sometimes useful reading the reviews by users of the recipes, i.e. home cooks from all over the world. A really terrific feature of this site is the one that allows you to convert from one form of measurement to another and scale the recipes up and down according to how many servings you need. There is also a Healthy Living category you might like to check out where you can find gluten free or egg free or sugar free or dairy free or designed for diabetics and so on.
Nourishing Traditions/Traditional Foods
Through the Cooking Glass - Nourishing Traditions Through the Eyes of Brian Glass - An interesting and informative blog featuring thoughts, recipes and research along "nourishing traditions" lines. As a matter of fact, I am going to try making tortillas in the way that he suggests.
Indian
Cooking with Kurma - Kurma Dasa, dubbed "Australia's Vegetarian Guru" has been teaching vegetarian cooking for over 37 years through his cookbooks, TV shows and personal travel. His spiritually based international cuisine is delicious and inventive. The Cooking with Kurma web site is full of vital information as well as recipes, menu planning help, a glossary and so on. His special emphasis on Vedic cuisine particularly appeals to me. I watched a series of his on TV years ago. I loved his cooking, his knowledge, his skill base and his sense of humor. I have been using his cookbooks ever since.
Gluten Free
Gluten Free Cooking School - "Lessons and Recipes for the Gluten Free Cook" - An acquaintance wrote to me about this blog. She said that her husband, a chef, was disgusted with all the gluten free recipes and cookbooks he had tried until he found Mary Frances' site. Her copyrighted recipes are delicious and she also provides cooking lessons on things like how to cut an onion or separate an egg. A great resource for those who are gluten intolerant (which according to Dr. Mercola includes most of us!).
Manjula's Kitchen - Basic Indian cooking explained simply and with an emphasis on fresh ingredients. On the site are recipes complete with suggestions for substitutions, variety and serving suggestions. Her site also has links to videos she has made showing exactly how to make some of her delicious recipes. Watching these videos is helpful for learning the new skills needed for cooking authentic Indian food.
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The Politics of Food and Food Growing
Battling the "MSG Myth" - In the course of learning the news that MSG is now associated with stomach cancer, I discovered this site. I didn't think there was any way we could be exposed to MSG until I read through the Hidden Names for MSG page of this site. I was shocked! It can be in citric acid and malted barley?? Go here to learn about symptoms of MSG poisoning and its connection to fibromyalgia, autism, ADHD and more. Consider the survival guide and cookbook of the same name as the site.
The Cornucopia Institute - "Promoting economic justice for family-scale farming". This organization engages in research, advocacy and economic development on behalf of the family farming community and organic farming practices. Read news articles here directly related to your supply of real food. Take part in their projects.
Howard Lyman: Mad Cowboy - "Plain Truth from the Cattle Rancher Who Won't Eat Meat." Howard Lyman was a 4th generation farmer for 40 years in Montana. A spinal cord tumor in 1979 changed his life and brought him to the realization that he had to fight for family farmers, for the life of the soil and for animals trapped in the factory farming system. He has written a book (see a book review here) and made an award-winning documentary (see a trailer here). He travels widely sharing information about the real conditions in factory farms and their affects on human health and the condition of the earth. He speaks out for alternatives. Web site contains back issues of his newsletter as well as what he calls "350 referenced factoids" about Mad Cow Disease, Vegetarianism, the Environment, Human Health and Animal Rights
Organic Consumers Association - This is a grass roots not-for-profit that champions organic and "socially responsible" consumers. They deal with issues related to food safety, sustainability, industrial agriculture, children's health and so on. This organization provides research, publications, political mobilization on critical issues and more. Their web site contains a great deal of information across a wide range of subjects all the way from clothing to Mad Cow Disease. Check out their extensive book list.
The Weston A. Price Foundation -
If you would like to support the Pockets of the Future Project, prayers, encouragement and donations are always welcome.
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