Kitchen Goddesses: My Foodie Friends

Writing about breastfeeding and writing about food have to go hand in hand. Our babies deserve the best nourishment so why shouldn’t we? I am a firm believer that what goes into our bodies impacts the well being of our children. If we want our kids to grow up eating nutritious foods then we have to eat them too. Monkey see, monkey do. But in our world of conveniently pre-packaged, processed and fast foods it’s hard to know where to start, what to make and how to make it. If it’s all available and pre-made at the grocery store why should we spend any more time in the kitchen than it takes to push a few buttons on the microwave? Well, if we want our kids to eat healthier than we do and we want them to learn how to make more than cereal by the time they move out of the house, then we have to start learning about food and nutrition and making the choice to nourish ourselves and our families.

I love food. I love to look at it, talk about it, read about it, smell it, make things out of it, and of course eat it. I’d say I’m a pretty good cook. I remember getting to a point in my life when I realized my cooking skills surpassed my mother’s. But there are always those who are better. I am blessed to have three good friends who are goddesses in the kitchen and whom I resource to death when I have food questions:

Ring ring, “Hello Diana, I don’t have any buttermilk. How do I substitute?”

Ring ring, “Hello Maria, what can I do with mung beans?”

Ring ring, “Hi Tara, I need a good oatmeal cookie recipe. Oh yeah and how did you make that vegetable stew last week? It was so awesome even my husband liked it!”

Diana is the biggest foodie out of all of us. She’s her own five star restaurant and bakery rolled into one, and she’s self-taught. Her secret? She isn’t daunted by difficult recipes. “Anyone can do it!” she chirps. She will happily spend three days making almond pull apart buns because that’s just what the recipe needs you to do and company is coming town. She makes her own bagels, pita bread, and crackers and everything else under the sun I would only ever consider buying at the store. How she does it? No children. Lucky for me she likes to be helpful.

Maria is also self-taught and has her own catering business. She is my resource for all foods ethnic. We were roommates for a couple years and I credit her for teaching me about Aruveyda and how to blend spices.

Tara is the chef. Want a good muffin recipe? She can rattle one off over the phone without a moment’s hesitation. If you want to make duck a l’orange you can call her and she’ll tell you how. Not that I eat duck. I’m actually a vegetarian. But basically if I want to know how to make one of those dishes you just know a chef knows how to make, I call her.

It is wonderful to learn new tricks from friends who love to cook. Mine inspire me daily. I introduce you to my friends because you’ll probably hear about them again. And between the four of us we’ll be your source for all things yummy and nutritious on this site.

Are you a foodie? Do you have any foodie friends? Do they intimidate or inspire you? What kinds of things have you learned from them?

Related posts:

1. Vegetarian Foodie Fridays: My New Kitchen
2. Ten Essential Kitchen Tools for Breastfeeding Moms
3. Monday Musings: Breast Friends
4. Foodie Fridays: Secret Vice Crackerjack
5. Vegetarian Foodie Fridays: Cabbage and Beans Au Gratin

Tags: friends