Open Mind with Cecilia Skidmore, MA, LPC
"The greatest sin is to remain unconscious." -Carl Jung
Upcoming Shows... 
Open Mind airs: Sunday mornings at 7:30am and Sunday afternoons at 3:00pm on 88.5 fm, Grand Rapids, MI.
Sunday, July 10, and July 17 2011: A two-part interview with the editor of Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable
Of the great figure in twentieth-century American history perhaps none is more complex and controversial than Malcolm X. Constantly
rewriting his own story, he became a criminal, a minister, a leader, and an icon, all before being felled by assassins' bullets at age thirty-nine. Through his tireless work and countless speeches he empowered hundreds of thousands of black Americans to create better lives and stronger communities while establishing the template for the self-actualized, independent African American man. In death he became a broad symbol of both resistance and reconciliation for millions around the world.
Manning Marable's new biography of Malcolm is a stunning achievement. Filled with new information and shocking revelations that go beyond the Autobiography, Malcolm X unfolds a sweeping story of race and class in America, from the rise of Marcus Garvey and the Ku Klux Klan to the struggles of the civil rights movement in the fifties and sixties. Reaching into Malcolm's troubled youth, it traces a path from his parents' activism through his own engagement with the Nation of Islam, charting his astronomical rise in the world of Black Nationalism and culminating in the never-before-told true story of his assassination. Malcolm X will stand as the definitive work on one of the most singular forces for social change, capturing with revelatory clarity a man who constantly strove, in the great American tradition, to remake himself anew.
[A] groundbreaking piece of work. ...The result is not just a biography, but also a history of Muslims in America and a sweeping account of one man's transformation... It will be difficult for anyone to better this book. ... a work of art, a feast that combines genres skillfully: biography, true-crime, political commentary. It gives us Malcolm X in
full gallop.
~Wil Haygood, Washington Post
Professor Manning Marable (pictured right) passed away in April of 2011. Click here to read the New York Times article.
Sunday, June 26, 2011: VINCENT CANNATO, author of American Passage: The History of Ellis Island
Using a variety of primary sources, Cannato (The Ungovernable City) describes Ellis Island as a place and as an experience for the approximately 12 million
immigrants who passed through it from 1892 to 1924. He follows its reincarnation as a detention center for wartime aliens and as a monument and museum, which he admits may celebrate uncritically "ethnic triumphalism" and upward mobility. Cannato writes that understaffing resulted in only perfunctory screening for mental, physical, and moral traits that might have made newcomers public charges, and he disabuses readers of the fallacy that examiners, rather than steamship officials or immigrants bent on assimilation, changed entrants' last names. With a focus on how "actual people created, interpreted, and executed immigration laws," Cannato maintains that regulation, which sometimes degraded into restriction, formed part of Progressive era reform and growing federal involvement to safeguard what was deemed the public interest. This measured book helps to place in perspective discussions—sure to matter to genealogists and those engaged in political discourse—of Ellis Island and the idea of immigration as a privilege rather than a right. Essential
reading.
—Frederick J. Augustyn Jr., Library of Congress
Vincent J. Cannato is associate professor of history at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He received his BA with honors in Political Science from Williams College and his PhD in History from Columbia University. At UMASS-Boston, Prof. Cannato teaches courses on New York City history, Boston history, immigration history, and twentieth-century American history.
Sunday, June 19, 2011: DAVID GUY, author of Jake Fades: A Novel of Impermanence
Sunday, July 10, and July 17 2011: A two-part interview with the editor of Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable
Of the great figure in twentieth-century American history perhaps none is more complex and controversial than Malcolm X. Constantly
rewriting his own story, he became a criminal, a minister, a leader, and an icon, all before being felled by assassins' bullets at age thirty-nine. Through his tireless work and countless speeches he empowered hundreds of thousands of black Americans to create better lives and stronger communities while establishing the template for the self-actualized, independent African American man. In death he became a broad symbol of both resistance and reconciliation for millions around the world. Manning Marable's new biography of Malcolm is a stunning achievement. Filled with new information and shocking revelations that go beyond the Autobiography, Malcolm X unfolds a sweeping story of race and class in America, from the rise of Marcus Garvey and the Ku Klux Klan to the struggles of the civil rights movement in the fifties and sixties. Reaching into Malcolm's troubled youth, it traces a path from his parents' activism through his own engagement with the Nation of Islam, charting his astronomical rise in the world of Black Nationalism and culminating in the never-before-told true story of his assassination. Malcolm X will stand as the definitive work on one of the most singular forces for social change, capturing with revelatory clarity a man who constantly strove, in the great American tradition, to remake himself anew.
[A] groundbreaking piece of work. ...The result is not just a biography, but also a history of Muslims in America and a sweeping account of one man's transformation... It will be difficult for anyone to better this book. ... a work of art, a feast that combines genres skillfully: biography, true-crime, political commentary. It gives us Malcolm X in
full gallop. ~Wil Haygood, Washington Post
Professor Manning Marable (pictured right) passed away in April of 2011. Click here to read the New York Times article.
Sunday, June 26, 2011: VINCENT CANNATO, author of American Passage: The History of Ellis Island
Using a variety of primary sources, Cannato (The Ungovernable City) describes Ellis Island as a place and as an experience for the approximately 12 million
immigrants who passed through it from 1892 to 1924. He follows its reincarnation as a detention center for wartime aliens and as a monument and museum, which he admits may celebrate uncritically "ethnic triumphalism" and upward mobility. Cannato writes that understaffing resulted in only perfunctory screening for mental, physical, and moral traits that might have made newcomers public charges, and he disabuses readers of the fallacy that examiners, rather than steamship officials or immigrants bent on assimilation, changed entrants' last names. With a focus on how "actual people created, interpreted, and executed immigration laws," Cannato maintains that regulation, which sometimes degraded into restriction, formed part of Progressive era reform and growing federal involvement to safeguard what was deemed the public interest. This measured book helps to place in perspective discussions—sure to matter to genealogists and those engaged in political discourse—of Ellis Island and the idea of immigration as a privilege rather than a right. Essential reading.—Frederick J. Augustyn Jr., Library of Congress
Vincent J. Cannato is associate professor of history at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He received his BA with honors in Political Science from Williams College and his PhD in History from Columbia University. At UMASS-Boston, Prof. Cannato teaches courses on New York City history, Boston history, immigration history, and twentieth-century American history.
Sunday, June 19, 2011: DAVID GUY, author of Jake Fades: A Novel of Impermanence
Septuagenarian Jake teaches Zen Buddhism and repairs bicycles in Bar Harbor, Maine. Middle-aged Hank is his devoted student. When Jake begins displaying early signs of Alzheimer's, he asks Hank to take over 
his teaching duties. But Hank, who has practiced meditation for 20 years, feels ill-equipped to replace the wise, genial man who has helped him make sense of his life. During a weeklong trip to Cambridge, Massachusetts, Jake and Hank ponder the future as they indulge in hearty breakfasts at the Golden Donut (a beloved Cambridge greasy spoon that closed in the late 1990s), knock back beers at Charlie's Tap (also a real--and still thriving--place), and meet with Jake's benefactor, Madeleine, to discuss plans for creating a state-of-the-art retreat center. Time is ticking for Jake, who is lucid one moment, lost in a fog the next. Can a hesitant Hank transcend his fears and hone koans worthy of his soulful mentor? Longtime Buddhist practitioner Guy (Autobiography of My Body, 1985) explores the Zen zone in this low-key tale of meditation, mentoring, and mouth-watering baked goods.
his teaching duties. But Hank, who has practiced meditation for 20 years, feels ill-equipped to replace the wise, genial man who has helped him make sense of his life. During a weeklong trip to Cambridge, Massachusetts, Jake and Hank ponder the future as they indulge in hearty breakfasts at the Golden Donut (a beloved Cambridge greasy spoon that closed in the late 1990s), knock back beers at Charlie's Tap (also a real--and still thriving--place), and meet with Jake's benefactor, Madeleine, to discuss plans for creating a state-of-the-art retreat center. Time is ticking for Jake, who is lucid one moment, lost in a fog the next. Can a hesitant Hank transcend his fears and hone koans worthy of his soulful mentor? Longtime Buddhist practitioner Guy (Autobiography of My Body, 1985) explores the Zen zone in this low-key tale of meditation, mentoring, and mouth-watering baked goods. ~ Booklist
David Guy teaches writing in the Hart Leadership Program and the Masters of Public Policy Program at Duke University. He is the author of numerous books, including The Autobiography of My Body and The Red Thread of Passion. His book reviews appear regularly in the Washington Post, the New York Times, and other papers, and he is a contributing editor to Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. He lives in Durham, North Carolina.
Sunday, June 12, 2011: "Good Morning America"'s CLAIRE SHIPMAN, co-author of Womenomics: Write Your Own Rules for Success
“A personal, provocative and challenging book for career women who want less guilt, more life.”
~Diane Sawyer
This collaboration between broadcasting powerhouses [Claire] Shipman and [Katty] Kay gives career women explicit permission to demand the balance that's been missing in their lives. The authors assert that after decades of trying to outdo men or fighting the Mommy 
Wars in the office trenches of the 1980s and 1990s, women have gained enough corporate clout to start changing the workplace to suit their needs. Shipman and Kay review the depth of women's influence as consumers and earners, maintaining that their power gives them the right and the ability to ask for flexibility in their work lives, to negotiate assertively and effectively, to say no and to give up the guilt associated with getting their needs met. Through Shipman and Kay's own stories of struggling with demanding work and home lives and anecdotes from other working mothers, the authors make a convincing argument that with some mental and emotional effort, women can create their ideal work and home lives. Filled with pragmatic and optimistic steps, this book will inspire readers to set in motion a flexibility-driven business revolution that can benefit all women and men, families and workforces.
Wars in the office trenches of the 1980s and 1990s, women have gained enough corporate clout to start changing the workplace to suit their needs. Shipman and Kay review the depth of women's influence as consumers and earners, maintaining that their power gives them the right and the ability to ask for flexibility in their work lives, to negotiate assertively and effectively, to say no and to give up the guilt associated with getting their needs met. Through Shipman and Kay's own stories of struggling with demanding work and home lives and anecdotes from other working mothers, the authors make a convincing argument that with some mental and emotional effort, women can create their ideal work and home lives. Filled with pragmatic and optimistic steps, this book will inspire readers to set in motion a flexibility-driven business revolution that can benefit all women and men, families and workforces.Sunday, June 5, 2011: AARON NEWTON, co-author of A Nation of Farmers: Defeating the Food Crisis on American Soil
Once we could fill our grocery carts with cheap and plentiful food, but not anymore. Cheap food has gone the way of cheap oil. Climate change is already reducing crop yields worldwide.
The cost of flying in food from far away and shipping it across the country in refrigerated trucks is rapidly becoming unviable. Cars and cows increasingly devour grain harvests, sending prices skyrocketing. More Americans than ever before require food stamps and food pantries just to get by, and a worldwide food crisis is unfolding, overseas and in our kitchens.
We can keep hunger from stalking our families, but doing so will require a fundamental shift in our approach to field and table. A Nation of Farmers examines the limits and dangers of the globalized food system and how returning to basics is our best hope. The book includes in-depth guidelines for:
- Creating resilient local food systems
- Growing, cooking and eating sustainably and naturally
- Becoming part of the solution to the food crisis.
The book argues that we need to make self-provisioning, once the most ordinary of human activities, central to our lives. The results will be better
food, better health, better security and freedom from corporations that don't have our interests at heart.
Critical reading for anyone who eats and cares about high-quality food and food sources.
~from the Publisher
**Don't forget to check out Grand Rapids' own Fulton Street Farmer's Market! Buy fresh, whole foods from local farmers, and support sustainable, small-scale agriculture.
Sunday, May 29, 2011: Part Two of Cecilia's coversation with RICHARD LOUV, author of The Nature Principle
In this sanguine, wide-ranging study of how humans can thrive through the "renaturing of everyday life," Louv takes nature deficit disorder, introduced
in his seminal Last Child in the Woods, a step further, to argue that adults need nature, too. "A reconnection to the natural world is fundamental to human health," he writes, asking, "What would our lives be like if our days and nights were as immersed in nature as they are in electronics?" Louv's "Nature Principle" consists of seven precepts, including balancing technology excess with time in nature; a mind/body/nature connection, which Louv calls "vitamin N," that enhances physical and mental health; expanding our sense of community to include all living things; and purposefully developing a spiritual, psychological, physical attachment to a region and its natural history. The book presents examples of these precepts, from studies of how exposure to a common soil bacteria increases production of serotonin in the brain to designing shopping malls inspired by termite mounds.
~Publishers Weekly
Visit Richard Louv's website to read more!
Sunday, May 1 and 8, 2011: A two-part conversation with FRED ALAN WOLF, author of Time Loops and Space Twists: How God Created the Universe
In his most important book since Taking the Quantum Leap, Fred Alan Wolf, Ph.D., explains how our understanding of time, space, and matter have changed in just the last few years, and how with these new ideas we have a
glimpse into the "mind of God."
Making comparisons to Hindu Vedic and Judeo-Christian cosmology, Dr. Wolf explains how the universal command of the Deity "Let there be light" now takes on a new scientific meaning: Everything is literally made of light and the reader will learn how quantum physics proves this is so.
"Quantum physics could be daunting to the lay person, but Fred Alan Wolf has simplified and made these abstract concepts very comprehensible. In his new book, Time Loops and Twists: How God Created the Univers, he uses the wisdom from science and challenges our thoughts on religion while reminding us of true spirituality. His approach leads us in a new view of how consciousness and science are related." -Deepak Chopra
Sunday, April 24, 2011: CYNTHIA BOURGEAULT, author of The Meaning of Mary Magdalene: Discovering the Woman at the Heart of Christianity
Mary Magdalene is one of the most influential symbols in the history of Christianity—yet, if you look in the Bible, you’ll find only a handful of verses
that speak of her. How did she become such a compelling saint in the face of such paltry evidence? In her effort to answer that question, Cynthia Bourgeault examines the Bible, church tradition, art, legend, and newly discovered texts to see what’s there. She then applies her own reasoning and intuition, informed by the wisdom of the ages-old Christian contemplative tradition. What emerges is a radical view of Mary Magdalene as Jesus’s most important disciple, the one he considered to understand his teaching best. That teaching was characterized by a nondualistic approach to the world and by a deep understanding of the value of the feminine. Cynthia shows how an understanding of Mary Magdalene can revitalize contemporary Christianity, how Christians and others can, through her, find their way to Jesus’s original teachings and apply them to their modern lives.
Cynthia Bourgeault is an Episcopalian priest, international retreat and
conference leader, and author of seven books on contemplative Christianity. She is also the founder of the Contemplative Society, and of the Aspen Wisdom School in Colorado. Watch a video of an interview of Cynthia given by the Shalem Institute here.
Sunday, April 17, 2011: P.M.H. ATWATER, author of Near Death Experiences, The Rest of the Story: What They Teach Us About Living, Dying, and Our True Purpose
A Nation of FarmersIn this sanguine, wide-ranging study of how humans can thrive through the "renaturing of everyday life," Louv takes nature deficit disorder, introduced
in his seminal Last Child in the Woods, a step further, to argue that adults need nature, too. "A reconnection to the natural world is fundamental to human health," he writes, asking, "What would our lives be like if our days and nights were as immersed in nature as they are in electronics?" Louv's "Nature Principle" consists of seven precepts, including balancing technology excess with time in nature; a mind/body/nature connection, which Louv calls "vitamin N," that enhances physical and mental health; expanding our sense of community to include all living things; and purposefully developing a spiritual, psychological, physical attachment to a region and its natural history. The book presents examples of these precepts, from studies of how exposure to a common soil bacteria increases production of serotonin in the brain to designing shopping malls inspired by termite mounds.~Publishers Weekly
Visit Richard Louv's website to read more!
Sunday, May 1 and 8, 2011: A two-part conversation with FRED ALAN WOLF, author of Time Loops and Space Twists: How God Created the Universe
In his most important book since Taking the Quantum Leap, Fred Alan Wolf, Ph.D., explains how our understanding of time, space, and matter have changed in just the last few years, and how with these new ideas we have a
glimpse into the "mind of God." Making comparisons to Hindu Vedic and Judeo-Christian cosmology, Dr. Wolf explains how the universal command of the Deity "Let there be light" now takes on a new scientific meaning: Everything is literally made of light and the reader will learn how quantum physics proves this is so.
"Quantum physics could be daunting to the lay person, but Fred Alan Wolf has simplified and made these abstract concepts very comprehensible. In his new book, Time Loops and Twists: How God Created the Univers, he uses the wisdom from science and challenges our thoughts on religion while reminding us of true spirituality. His approach leads us in a new view of how consciousness and science are related." -Deepak Chopra
Sunday, April 24, 2011: CYNTHIA BOURGEAULT, author of The Meaning of Mary Magdalene: Discovering the Woman at the Heart of Christianity
Mary Magdalene is one of the most influential symbols in the history of Christianity—yet, if you look in the Bible, you’ll find only a handful of verses
that speak of her. How did she become such a compelling saint in the face of such paltry evidence? In her effort to answer that question, Cynthia Bourgeault examines the Bible, church tradition, art, legend, and newly discovered texts to see what’s there. She then applies her own reasoning and intuition, informed by the wisdom of the ages-old Christian contemplative tradition. What emerges is a radical view of Mary Magdalene as Jesus’s most important disciple, the one he considered to understand his teaching best. That teaching was characterized by a nondualistic approach to the world and by a deep understanding of the value of the feminine. Cynthia shows how an understanding of Mary Magdalene can revitalize contemporary Christianity, how Christians and others can, through her, find their way to Jesus’s original teachings and apply them to their modern lives.Cynthia Bourgeault is an Episcopalian priest, international retreat and
conference leader, and author of seven books on contemplative Christianity. She is also the founder of the Contemplative Society, and of the Aspen Wisdom School in Colorado. Watch a video of an interview of Cynthia given by the Shalem Institute here. Sunday, April 17, 2011: P.M.H. ATWATER, author of Near Death Experiences, The Rest of the Story: What They Teach Us About Living, Dying, and Our True Purpose
Real-life stories of out-of-body experiences, encountering a special light, greeters from the afterlife, life reviews, tunnels, and 360-degree vision--are all part of this intriguing look at near-death experiences (NDEs) by one of the world's noted 
authorities, P.M.H. Atwater. Atwater shares her amazing findings, based on her sessions with more than 4,000 adults and children, and over 40 years of research; a breathtaking culmination to a successful and controversial career.
Atwater examines every aspect of the near-death phenomenon: from first-hand accounts of survivors experiencing flash forwards, waking up in morgues, and developing psychic abilities, to stunning cases of groups experiencing NDEs together. Atwater offers statistics from her findings to show the distinctive common patterns that people experience, as well as the common aftereffects and how it changed their lives.
She also explores the physiological and spiritual changes that result from near-death experiences and looks at the connections between the NDE experience and what is often called "enlightenment." Near Death Experiences provides a glimpse of not only what lies beyond the veil of our temporal existence, but points to what--or who--we really are and what we are meant to be.
authorities, P.M.H. Atwater. Atwater shares her amazing findings, based on her sessions with more than 4,000 adults and children, and over 40 years of research; a breathtaking culmination to a successful and controversial career. Atwater examines every aspect of the near-death phenomenon: from first-hand accounts of survivors experiencing flash forwards, waking up in morgues, and developing psychic abilities, to stunning cases of groups experiencing NDEs together. Atwater offers statistics from her findings to show the distinctive common patterns that people experience, as well as the common aftereffects and how it changed their lives.
She also explores the physiological and spiritual changes that result from near-death experiences and looks at the connections between the NDE experience and what is often called "enlightenment." Near Death Experiences provides a glimpse of not only what lies beyond the veil of our temporal existence, but points to what--or who--we really are and what we are meant to be.
~from the Publisher
P.M.H. Atwater is an international authority on near-death states as well as a near-death experiencer who "died" three times. She is the author of 20 books and lives in Charlottesville, Va.
Sunday, March 27 and Sunday April 3, 2011: ELIZABETH MATTIS-NAMGYEL, author of The Power of an Open Question: The Buddha's Path to Freedom
I know what you're thinking--"Not another book on Buddhism! How many could we possibly need?? It seems like every year there's another influx of
memoirs or guidebooks on meditation, mindfulness, entering the way of peace...and how different are they, really? What's the use in having one more?"
This is exactly the kind of scepticism that Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel attempts to address in her first book on following the Buddhist path. The questions above--"what's the point? do we really need this?"--aren't neutral questions. In a real sense, these sorts of questions are implicitly both statements, and judgements: what we are really saying is, "We don't need this. There are plenty of books on this subject, and one more can't possibly offer anything new or different." In other words, they are "closed" questions, questions that close off the possibility of an unknown and unexpected response.
We all do this, of course, from time to time. We make assumptions, we decide in advance what something or someone will be like, we pursue or avoid things because we have some pre-formed idea that either attracts or repels us. In The Power of an Open Question, Mattis-Namgyel is reminding us that these assumptions, these closed questions, cut us off from other people, from ourselves, and from life itself.
Big ideas? Sure. But perhaps the most captivating feature of Buddhism, and of
Mattis-Namgyel, is the way in which these huge ideas are grounded in the simplicity of life's most quotidian experiences. Living life as an open question allows us to truly be in the world and with others--to see things for what they are, not as we presume them to be. We are able (to use a familiar expression) to be the screen door, through which the wind passes, but which the wind does not conflict with nor break from its hinges. This is something we are all capable of, but something that we all have difficulty with--Mattis-Namgyel reminds us of that possibility. And that is something that I, for one, need to be reminded of--over and over again.
Join us on March 27 and on April 3 for Cecilia's two-part conversation with Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel. Visit Mattis-Namgyel's website to read a biography, join in a weekly Q&A, and more.
I know what you're thinking--"Not another book on Buddhism! How many could we possibly need?? It seems like every year there's another influx of
memoirs or guidebooks on meditation, mindfulness, entering the way of peace...and how different are they, really? What's the use in having one more?"This is exactly the kind of scepticism that Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel attempts to address in her first book on following the Buddhist path. The questions above--"what's the point? do we really need this?"--aren't neutral questions. In a real sense, these sorts of questions are implicitly both statements, and judgements: what we are really saying is, "We don't need this. There are plenty of books on this subject, and one more can't possibly offer anything new or different." In other words, they are "closed" questions, questions that close off the possibility of an unknown and unexpected response.
We all do this, of course, from time to time. We make assumptions, we decide in advance what something or someone will be like, we pursue or avoid things because we have some pre-formed idea that either attracts or repels us. In The Power of an Open Question, Mattis-Namgyel is reminding us that these assumptions, these closed questions, cut us off from other people, from ourselves, and from life itself.
Big ideas? Sure. But perhaps the most captivating feature of Buddhism, and of
Mattis-Namgyel, is the way in which these huge ideas are grounded in the simplicity of life's most quotidian experiences. Living life as an open question allows us to truly be in the world and with others--to see things for what they are, not as we presume them to be. We are able (to use a familiar expression) to be the screen door, through which the wind passes, but which the wind does not conflict with nor break from its hinges. This is something we are all capable of, but something that we all have difficulty with--Mattis-Namgyel reminds us of that possibility. And that is something that I, for one, need to be reminded of--over and over again. Join us on March 27 and on April 3 for Cecilia's two-part conversation with Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel. Visit Mattis-Namgyel's website to read a biography, join in a weekly Q&A, and more.
Cecilia's Blog: Thoughts on Cooking and Self-Discovery
Making cheese these days, and bread and sausage. It's fun and exciting to learn a new thing, and so to develop a new passion. I find myself surrounded by baking books and things make sense in a way they didn't before. What I mean is that when you cook following a recipe you don' t have to really know what's going on. You just put in the ingredients as laid out, bake or stew or braise for so long and voila!- a product results. Maybe you make it again, reading the recipe, maybe you don't ever make it again.
But when you start to make things with intent, you begin to pay attention. Then you can fiddle with the recipe perhaps, but at least you begin to have ownership over it. I bet Dan Siegel would say your brain begins to create an image of yourself as part of that recipe, like it creates an image of the car being an extended part of us when we learn to drive. Nevertheless, the intent changes everything. I started with making bread from the book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. What a glorious feeling to make something that looks like bakery bread! But it wasn't too long before it felt incomplete. There weren't enough holes in the bread. So after discovering Flour and speaking to its author, I perused the book and found her recipe for bread using a "mother." A mother is yeast made by itself - using flour and water and air, and a few hours later one can make a more complex loaf - and it will have holes...We are referred back to other bread cookbooks from Flour, since it's not a bread book, and one of the books was one I already had - The LaBrea Bread Book. In that book we learn to make sourdough starter - flour, water, air and GRAPES! When I'd first purchased the LaBrea bread book, that seemed so daunting, but now it seems adventurous and exciting to have one more thing that I can do myself (YES!) instead of relying on the grocery store. It has gotten to the point that I bypass most of what is at the grocery store except staples and produce, meat, and of course wine. We eat better, have more variety and have much more satisfaction than ever.
Why do we rely so much on grocery stores, on prepackaged foods? I can only imagine that it comes from the fact that in my mother's generation the shift from home made - including things like home births and breast feeding, but certainly foods - moving from homemade soups to canned, from homemade cakes to cake mixes was thought of as "modern" and so we lost most of our own character. The irony is that most of what is supposed to be easier and quicker isn't at all, so we're left with the same amount of work for less of everything else.
~C
Making cheese these days, and bread and sausage. It's fun and exciting to learn a new thing, and so to develop a new passion. I find myself surrounded by baking books and things make sense in a way they didn't before. What I mean is that when you cook following a recipe you don' t have to really know what's going on. You just put in the ingredients as laid out, bake or stew or braise for so long and voila!- a product results. Maybe you make it again, reading the recipe, maybe you don't ever make it again.
But when you start to make things with intent, you begin to pay attention. Then you can fiddle with the recipe perhaps, but at least you begin to have ownership over it. I bet Dan Siegel would say your brain begins to create an image of yourself as part of that recipe, like it creates an image of the car being an extended part of us when we learn to drive. Nevertheless, the intent changes everything. I started with making bread from the book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. What a glorious feeling to make something that looks like bakery bread! But it wasn't too long before it felt incomplete. There weren't enough holes in the bread. So after discovering Flour and speaking to its author, I perused the book and found her recipe for bread using a "mother." A mother is yeast made by itself - using flour and water and air, and a few hours later one can make a more complex loaf - and it will have holes...We are referred back to other bread cookbooks from Flour, since it's not a bread book, and one of the books was one I already had - The LaBrea Bread Book. In that book we learn to make sourdough starter - flour, water, air and GRAPES! When I'd first purchased the LaBrea bread book, that seemed so daunting, but now it seems adventurous and exciting to have one more thing that I can do myself (YES!) instead of relying on the grocery store. It has gotten to the point that I bypass most of what is at the grocery store except staples and produce, meat, and of course wine. We eat better, have more variety and have much more satisfaction than ever.
Why do we rely so much on grocery stores, on prepackaged foods? I can only imagine that it comes from the fact that in my mother's generation the shift from home made - including things like home births and breast feeding, but certainly foods - moving from homemade soups to canned, from homemade cakes to cake mixes was thought of as "modern" and so we lost most of our own character. The irony is that most of what is supposed to be easier and quicker isn't at all, so we're left with the same amount of work for less of everything else.
~C
