The Tough Cooks to Cope

In the last year or so, I have found myself cooking when feeling vulnerable emotionally, and communicated my cooking choices here. Today, I am not cooking to cope perse, but because I love to love my family and friends through wonderful food. I have had my eye on an apricot scone recipe for some time now, and decided that today was the day to make them.

Also, in need of cleaning out my refrigerator without throwing food away I will be making a turkey chowder recipe that will help to feed my family without waste. In particular, I am planning to use the few slices of bacon, mushrooms, celery, carrots, and turkey, along with wild rice and leftover gravy, before they begin to spoil.

There is such comfort for me (aka The Tough) in cooking delicious and wholesome food for my family/friends that I like to indulge regularly in this pursuit. Cooking to cope has provided me with an outlet for distress as well as the calming that comes from focusing on a recipe such that it will produce wonderful food. I highly recommend 'Cooking to Cope' for anyone who loves to cook real food. 

There is a distinction to be made here when it comes to 'real food'. Have you ever looked at the weekly grocery store ads and noticed how much food there is being sold that does not really qualify as something to eat that will nourish and provide energy for a body? The unbelievable prevalence of processed food in every area of a grocery store is, in my opinion as well as throughout the medical community, responsible for many maladies such as obesity and some autoimmune conditions, and a general state of malnourishment. If one or more of the ingredients on a food label is as long as your arm, it is probably not food and your body may not know how to break it down. Artificial flavors and colors are at the top of the list of food-products to avoid for me when I am shopping. Food for thought!