Hello, Friends!
For years now, folks who come regularly to Earthsprings Retreat Center have been asking for an Earthsprings Cookbook. However, my life is so rich and full that I never have time for putting one together. This little blog place was recommended as a way to make it happen, one recipe at a time.
I’m glad to share the treasures that have been passed down to me or that I have gathered from a lifetime of loving food, growing gardens, canning, cooking, inventing, modifying, and creating ways to nurture bodies and spirits with yummy recipes.
My old notebooks that contain accumulated notes and recipes are, by now, ragged and over-stuffed. They contain some things that, for dietary reasons, probably should be indulged in only about once a year, but these delicious marvels should not be lost in a rush to eliminate completely the “sinful” sugar or fat or whatever else it is that is currently forbidden. On the other hand, finding ways to maximize the health benefits of what we take into our bodies while making it all taste wonderful is essential.
At Earthsprings, I have served meals to all sorts of people with all sorts of dietary restrictions. For each and all, I’ve sought to nourish their spirits as well as their bodies. I believe that all foods—meat, vegetables, herbs, and all else—are infused with energy, and that each has its own medicinal properties, appropriate here and possibly not there. And I know that what is healthful for one person may be toxic to another. So please take responsibility yourself for determining whether any recipe offered here will be good for you or not; I am not in a position to know that.
Also, please remember that I am a “lineage keeper,” even about recipes. Every one of my recipes has a title, such as “Aunt Delphi’s Pickles,” or “Selena and Katrina’s Cake.” Every time I use one of these recipes, I recall the people and the circumstances when I received it. So now, as I pass these recipes on, I ask only this:
If you use a recipe exactly as it is, please give it it’s correct name and credit Earthsprings Retreat Center as its source (if you are familiar with Creative Commons Licenses, it’s on the terms of “No Derivatives,” meaning you are free to use it, but you must give credit to the copyright holder—me—when you publish or pass it on, and you must not modify it if you do so.)
Of course, you are free to modify it as you experiment and invent and create, just don’t tell someone that you are giving them “Glenda’s Power Cookies” if you have modified my recipe—now it’s Your Power Cookie!
I’ll have lots of comments here in this blog about my relationship with plants, the earth, food, people, and who knows what else, along with the recipes. I’ll try to word the recipes so that those who have never cooked will be able to understand them, but let me know if I fail here; it’s mostly all automatic for me, and I have to stop to think how to word it properly for you to follow. If you are an experienced cook, I welcome feedback and shared communion over this most essential part of our lives, food!
And one last thing from the Earthsprings kitchen: after you have so carefully prepared your food with love and good intentions and with health in mind, be sure that no “toxic” conversation takes place during the eating of it! Rather, a prayer of gratitude to the earth, the sun, the rain, the farmer, the person who drove the produce truck or packed the grocery shelves or checked you out at the market, indeed for all else that goes together to create the possibility of the meals you prepare—this gratitude and awareness is always appropriate and is at the heart of the Earthsprings eating experience.
Blessings!
Glenda Taylor
Earthsprings Retreat Center
Jennifer, I promised to post the way I made the meatless loaf you said was “the best meatless loaf I’ve ever had!” Thanks for the compliment, and, as I told you, I can’t begin to give you proportions, as it … Continue reading →
Several of you asked me for recipes from last weekend’s retreat. Here are recipes for Simple Pork Chops and Salmon Loaf. Simple Pork Chops Have ready: Slice enough onions (1/2 inch thick slices) to completely cover in one layer all … Continue reading →
After a cold, windy walk in the woods this morning, I realized that this is the perfect time for winter soup. Something about a hearty warm soup puts me back into an ancient hunter-gatherer place where we are sitting around … Continue reading →
Posted in Recipes
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Tagged recipes, soups
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Just in time for Thanksgiving, the first post on the recipe blog, with gratitude as always. This is rich and delicious. Remove from turkey the giblets, heart, and liver before putting the turkey on to cook. Wash the giblets, heart … Continue reading →
Back in the dim past of my youth, cookies were almost always made with shortening or butter. When the health czars announced that oil was better for us than shortening, I came up with this cookie recipe that not only … Continue reading →