Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Empowerment Through Dairy-Making

Hi friends! My English Lessons column for Verve magazine has a new post up for February. Today Butter, Tomorrow World Peace touches on the way that dairy-making made me feel I could take on anything. Really. It honestly did. And does.

You can read the post here. I'd love to know if taking on some sort of food-related project empowered you, too. Funny, the things that empower us. For some, it's Tae Kwon Do or getting inked or running a marathon. For me, it's making yogurt.
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9 comments:

  1. EcoGrrlJanuary 31, 2012 at 9:24 PM

    great article! you've got a wonderful voice :)

    i remember that line from a/v/m as well - when i told someone i voluntarily went car-free, it's as if i plucked my eyeball out of the socket and set it on the table :)

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  2. YartJanuary 31, 2012 at 10:22 PM

    For me it is making bread. I feel wonderful each and every time I pull a loaf from the oven.

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  3. LaurenFebruary 1, 2012 at 12:48 AM

    The first time I made yogurt I jumped up in the air in joy. You know, like in that cheesy 80's toy commercial way, except I did it in all honesty.
    Putting some milk in the oven one night and waking up the next morning to see it's turned to yogurt? It was, quite literally, like magic.

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  4. UnknownFebruary 1, 2012 at 12:48 AM

    That's why I started cooking from scratch. I recently started making hard cheese. I felt empowered when I finally put the waxed wheel in my mini fridge to sit and age. THe more things I make from raw ingredients the more I feel like a superhero.

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  5. GraceFebruary 1, 2012 at 9:37 AM

    Canning. Talk about controlling your own destiny! I know exactly what is and isn't in it. I know exactly how it was prepared. I have it ready to go when I need it. I'm not much of a jam canner, I'm more interested in pressure canning food that can become quick, easy, healthy meals. Knowing that I have food in jars stashed all over my house makes me feel powerful, useful, and maybe more confident in myself somehow.

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  6. 6512 and growingFebruary 1, 2012 at 10:42 AM

    All the domestic arts: fermenting, canning, making yogurt, baking bread. Clicking off to your article now.

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  7. MollyFebruary 1, 2012 at 12:06 PM

    Gardening. Something grew because of me--is pretty empowering for me.

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  8. CourtneyFebruary 1, 2012 at 12:36 PM

    Simply learning how to cook from scratch has launched me into the world of 'homemade.' I grew up on canned (store bought) pasta sauce but once I realized how easy it is to make it from real tomatoes - revelation!

    At the moment, I've read more about how to make many things than I have actually made. As a city apartment dweller, the thought that I can cure salmon in my fridge or smoke things on my stove top is blowing my mind ... now to get around to actually doing so ...

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  9. amandaFebruary 1, 2012 at 10:59 PM

    are you still thinking of offering a class on home dairy making some time? If so, I'm in!

    (I love pulling bread form the oven, and anytime I can something and hear that lid seal I feel like I just made a huge accomplishment!)

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