Festivals and Ferments
Some ways of reconnecting with food and community and “regrowing our roots” that really stand out for me right now are culturing my own food and bringing back feasting. It’s so wild when completely different areas (or rather areas that you think are different) start to converge. I’ve been researching so many different teaching and learning approaches as I try to learn how to be a mom. I want so much for these little girls! A concept that really resonates with me is the idea of celebrating the seasons (festivals) that honor the earth and the passage of time. I want these celebrations to connect with seasonal foods and what these seasons cultivate in us- moving closer to the rhythms that surround us but are so easy in our modern lives to disconnect from. Watching my daughter pick and eat from our garden is such a joy! I want their lives to be rooted here, assured of their connection.
Culturing my own food has this kind of magical appeal for me, I admit it! I started getting in to fermenting shortly before getting pregnant with my first. In fact, I’m sure all those delicious B vitamins helped my body prepare for pregnancy! There is something so collaborative about sharing your kitchen with these living organisms that are helping you work towards health. I loved my little SCOBYs! I’ve never tried to do yogurt or cheeses and really want to diversify the vegetable ferments that I have tried. Dairy isn’t usually my friend (eliminating gluten and dairy were a one-two punch to the acne that I wrestled with for a solid decade). But I wonder if some of these ferments done at home could be more beneficial? Either way I’d love to do coconut and almond yogurts as well. There is no substitute to homemade milks, I can’t help but wonder if these will be the same. I hope my girls can experience the wonder that coexisting with these wonderful, health-promoting bacteria inspires in me. I want them to help me in the kitchen and watch in amazement as life becomes visible.
Both of these practices counter the modern food production assembly line by turning away from it. I was so scared of fermenting initially, and I don’t think I’m alone in that. What about Botulism, etc? We live in a culture that really discourages trusting ourselves in so many ways. We outsource so many decisions to agencies and industries that supposedly have our best interests at heart when even writing the sentence feels wrong! When we grow our own food and learn to preserve it healthfully, celebrate festivals outside of the consumer co-opted holidays, and recognize that we are capable of these small feats, we begin to reconnect with ourselves. Maybe even trust ourselves and learn to listen again.