Tuesday, April 2, 2013

The Whole World Needs A Kitchen


We live in a drive-through generation
About the closest thing to a home cooked meal
Is a greasy made-in-three
We hardly ever gather at our table
Life's too busy to be a family
Now if you ask me


The whole world needs a kitchen
Like the one we lived in
The smell of supper cooking on the stove
Food for the soul and a taste of mama's wisdom

Tired daddy dragging through the screen door
Hugs and kisses and a 'thanking the Lord'
They don't make it like that anymore
The whole world needs a kitchen

It's where we sat and did our homework
And that bottom stair was a barber's chair
When mama lowered our ears
It's where we watched mama and daddy dancin’
To the Rolling Stones and old George Jones
Man, I swear

The whole world needs a kitchen
Like the one we lived in
The smell of supper cooking on the stove
Food for the soul and a taste of mama's wisdom

Tired daddy dragging through the screen door
Hugs and kisses and a 'thanking the Lord'
They don't make it like that anymore
The whole world needs a kitchen

It's where we talked about our problems
And it's where we solved them
Lord knows we still got them

The whole world needs a kitchen
*Craig Morgan “the whole world needs a kitchen" 2012

With the Mayor of New York City declaring a war on oversized sodas…the Governor of Massachusetts trying to repeal the tax deal for sweets and Denmark enacting a specialized tax on fat, food choices are definitely in the news.

Personally, I don’t think that we can blame the worldwide obesity issue on just one thing.  While I don’t think MickeyD’s fries, high fructose corn syrup, society’s acceptance of a sedentary lifestyle, or eating on the go have helped anything; it is truly impossible to pinpoint one single factor.

I do think that I may have an answer.  Although, my solution may be every bit as controversial as Mayor Bloomberg’s soda ban and nearly as far reaching as Denmark’s fat tax…

My personal solution would be…
                                                                                                  
            
slow it down,  

fix food together,
  
 and eat in your OWN kitchen... 

   ...dining room...

          ...living room...

                         ...HOME! 
                                                                                    



                                                                  (even if it's only occasionally)




If you really want to start a revolution…grow your own food! (or at least some of it)




I might not be alone in my suggestion, check out this report released by  National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research (NIHR PHR)  Programme .

Some of our family’s most memorable moments have been shared around the kitchen table.  We have laughed and cried, prayed, fussed and fought and even made up while gathered ‘round that piece of furniture around which life centers…that slab of formica covered wood in the middle of our kitchen.  More than meals have been shared there…we’ve shared dreams, hopes, disappointments, fears, heartaches and moments of great achievement.  You might say that history has been made in our kitchen while eating some of our favorite meals. Read THIS...     

I wrote about the Power of Food  some time ago...and Here's the link to the story of the kitchen re-do.


The breaking of bread is a most powerful experience. The act of preparing it together may be even more powerful. All sorts of lessons can be learned...and a crucial foundation for a healthy future can  be secured. 

History has been changed over the dinner table.  Maybe it’s time to change history again. 
                                                                         
                                                                  …one meal at a time.




6 comments:

  1. So glad you included the pictures of your precious girls when they were little! The way I remember them when we first started coming to the market.

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    1. Thanks, Kim! We've known y'all a LONG time...as I was reminded when one of your kids DROVE to pick up your order and was talking about her JOB!
      Gee, did I feel OLD!

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  2. <3 Great reflections on not just the power of food and kitchens, but of real relationships and conversation.

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    1. Thanks for the kind words, Kathryn! Hope all is well with y'all.

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  3. The stares from the men arm wrestling could break a slab of formica covered wood! Heh I kid I kid
    Thanks for sharing this salute to home cooks all over :)
    It sometimes makes me pause to think, giving me a slight tingle through my spine, as I prepare the same dish that my mom made learning from her mother who made it learning from her mother...

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    1. Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it!

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