OUR STORY
Some of the best memories I have as a child growing up in the South are the times I spent in the kitchen watching the women in my family cook. I can recall watching my dad’s mother, “Nanny” hand rolling and pinching the edges of her pie crust on her holiday pies. Her pie edges had the most beautiful and flakiest crusts ever! There was always a sense of community in her kitchen whether there were two people or an entire house-full during a celebration.
My own mother had a recipe box and over the years I watched her collect, write, and share various recipes with others from her collection. She would often reference her own or my Nanny’s cards when making something for a local function. I can recall playing with this box of recipe cards, searching and reading, becoming very interested in all the great recipes shared by friends and family as well as a few food dedicated periodical selections among the mix.
The first dish I created was for the cooking badge requirement in Girl Scouts; I was 9! I grated apples, placed bread in a tin, added butter, sugar, cinnamon, flour, and then baked. My first apple spice loaf! I was hooked and from there the love for cooking grew.
Times have certainly changed since I learned to cook and bake. The availability of fast and quick items for consumption has taken over. I noticed more and more people would bring store-bought goods to functions instead of making something themselves. The sense of “hurry-up, eat, and go about your way” has replaced the love and community shared in the kitchen. It has also disconnected us from the farm-to-fork experience and our community farms have suffered for this shift.
My interest in health and fitness, working in the medical field, and a self-journey into massage therapy has taught me that the mind and body aren’t separate. From this realization I discovered that to stay healthy and happy and to live a holistic lifestyle a connection to our food is important. I wanted to bring that connection back to my family and friends in a way that honored my roots as well as promoted an awareness of the origins of the food we are consuming.
It is my goal to prepare wholesome and organic options that are better choices for healthy and holistic living while promoting a sense of community and togetherness through the art of food.
Angela
