Soul Searching

Yes, I have been doing a bit of soul searching this week. What is my vision for the future? Why am living a mostly self-sufficient life and cooking up a storm most any time of the day? Why do I feel so passionate about getting the word out about eating from the wild and eating heirloom vegetables that have not been tainted with GMO’s? Why do I want to write books, share with the world on my blog posts and other outlets the way that I live? Writing books, pleasing your publishers, etc. is not always so easy. Why do I do it? What drives me?

My answer is really very simple and not quite what I expected it to be. I have a deep deep passion to give hope and inspire people to live abundant lives. I want to encourage others what I have already learned and either give them some new ideas or teach them something they didn’t know about cooking and living self-sustainable.

I believe that optimal health and living a fulfilling life is the goal of most people. Simply put, optimal health comes from putting fresh vegetables without genetically modified organisms and organic, free ranging animals into your body and abundant living comes from living out the purposes God has intended for you.

The three things that people need to survive is food and water, shelter, and clothing. If you think about it, most creativity in life stems from those areas. I focus on the food part of that and want to teach people how to get the most flavor, the most nutrition, and the most beauty from their food. I believe that growing your own ingredients and harvesting your own meat is the most natural way to eat and to live.

Scott and I believe that being self-sufficient puts us in a position to be able to help others in a much more meaningful way. It also gives confidence to our children as they learn this lifestyle to go out into the world knowing if all else failed they could eat, build a shelter and survive…and do it with style! I think we take more positive risks because of the confidence this lifestyle affords.

For me, I find fulfillment in coming along side of Scott in all he loves and attempts to do. God has created me to be his helper. I love being his helper above all else. He loves to hunt, fish, and gather and when I say loves, I mean it. He loves great food. It was only natural for me to learn to cook all that he brought through the doors of our home. This was no easy task! Venison is not like beef, fresh vegetables take time to prepare, and some foraged herbs I knew not how to use!

I worked very hard to learn to prepare these wild animals that graced my entire kitchen while being processed and the vegetables, herbs, and foraged nuts, fruits, and other vegetation. In writing my books, I wanted to give a women and men a “leg up” on how to make the best food available using wild ingredients. It really all started with my wanting to please my husband. I have studied for over 20 years how to make the BEST meals of the wild ingredients and heirloom vegetables we have worked hard to harvest. I have been “putting fresh vegetables up” for decades. This is the lifestyle my husband loves and I have loved every minute of helping bring his dreams to pass!

This self-sustainable lifestyle has given me and my kids extra-ordinary confidence, not to mention that we eat better then I believe most anyone on the planet! My grandmother lived like this and she had the best food on her table and now I get to share in that tradition.

My goal is to inspire, encourage, and teach anyone willing to hear me how to cook from the wild and live the most abundant life possible! That is why I write, blog, talk incessantly on shows, at conferences, or just in person about living off the land and living wild!

May God bless you as you listen to him and follow his purposes for your life. Happy Cooking!