I Cook to Reclaim my Health
I Cook to Reclaim the Planet’s Health
I Cook to be with Family and Friends
I Cook to Create (which gives me Pride)
I Cook to save Money
I Cook because…well dang it, I like to Eat!
-Cooking Subversive Manifesto
Over the decades, America’s health has declined. Our pollinators are dying off and the planet is warming at a tremendous rate. Families and communities are fractured and lonely. We’ve lost the capacity to create with our hands. It all seems so overwhelming. What if I told you that the simple act of cooking can make a big difference?
You’re probably thinking, “yeah, but I don’t have time.”
Then this newsletter is for you. I want to show you how cooking can be integrated into a busy lifestyle. We’ll discuss strategies; unpack the resistance to cooking and healthy eating; highlight cooking science, techniques and practices. It’s not about recipes (though I’ll have some to share), nor having the latest kitchen gadget (though there are some I highly recommend). It starts with changing how you think about cooking—from ingredients, food shopping, preparation, cooking, dining to even something we usually dread, kitchen clean up. I’ll also talk about a twin passion- growing food and gardening, because the garden is a living pantry after all.
We’ll understand the role Big Business has played in manipulating us into making poor choices that adversely impact our health and that of the environment, and I hope to arm you with data-driven information to combat its continuing assault. When the smoke clears, I hope it’ll be easier to see that real food is medicine, and we should reclaim that for ourselves.
So join me in being a healthy lifestyle cook—one who cooks regularly, creatively and joyfully, contributing to the health and wellness of our families, communities and the environment.
What you get
Free/Paid subscriptions: Newsletters that are also available as narrated articles you can download on your favorite podcast app. I’ll try my best for weekly publications on Friday, but sometimes either the research/writing is particularly intense, or life gets crazy, in which case, I might miss some dates. Although I’m making content free, I’m hoping you choose to “donate” to the cause by upgrading to a paid subscription, which has no difference from free subscriptions other than the fact you are helping to financially support this endeavor, and making free subscriptions possible. At some point, I hope to include proprietary content to paid subscriptions such as Q&A and/or access to online culinary events by The Refined Cook (www.refinedcook.com).
Marlene is a culinary educator and founder of The Refined Cook, whose mission is to teach healthy and gourmet cooking to promote a slow and sustainable lifestyle. She is also a jazz musician, singer-songwriter and teaching artist. Marlene and her husband, Jeff, live in Greater Boston where they share the joys of cooking and gardening. They compost, use wind energy for their home and follow organic and permaculture practices in their garden. Their yard is also a certified national wildlife habitat.
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