DeeBeeLicious' Dirky Blog
Posted 06-19-2008 at 06:12 AM by deebeelicious
Dear All
Firstly, a BIG thank you to Dirk, Tracy & the rest of the admins/mods here at lovely DBCentral in giving us (me) the opportunity to blog.
You are v generous in time and effort (and no doubt cost! 
)
Secondly, some of you may have read a post I wrote a few weeks back in which I said to the effect 'thanks for the offer but I wouldn't be blogging here'.
Well reader, here I am. To clarify, I've decided to blog 'Dirk-related' items at DBC. And as you will no doubt come to read in the future, 'Dirk-related' ('Dr') will be a loose and vague notion. 
So, first blog - I suppose I should introduce my self, my inspirations, my being?
Nah! Too obvious for me - tha'll be my 2nd blog.
My first one goes like this!
I read an interesting article, which I'd like to share in part with you. It is from Rosie Boycott, from the Autumn 2007 National Trust Magazine.
The reason I wanted to start with this article, is because it reminded me of some of the ire Dirk stirred up when he wrote in his first book about mothers (parents?) getting back into the kitchen and cooking for their families. Some took that to be a chauvinistic view and totally out-dated. But here, we see a strong proud Feminist, who might have argued against Dirk in the 70s and 80s, come to agree with him in the 00s - only took 30 years Dirk!
Love and peace to us all.
xx
DBL
Firstly, a BIG thank you to Dirk, Tracy & the rest of the admins/mods here at lovely DBCentral in giving us (me) the opportunity to blog.
You are v generous in time and effort (and no doubt cost! )Secondly, some of you may have read a post I wrote a few weeks back in which I said to the effect 'thanks for the offer but I wouldn't be blogging here'.
Well reader, here I am. To clarify, I've decided to blog 'Dirk-related' items at DBC. And as you will no doubt come to read in the future, 'Dirk-related' ('Dr') will be a loose and vague notion. So, first blog - I suppose I should introduce my self, my inspirations, my being? Nah! Too obvious for me - tha'll be my 2nd blog.
My first one goes like this! I read an interesting article, which I'd like to share in part with you. It is from Rosie Boycott, from the Autumn 2007 National Trust Magazine.
"40% of all ready meals sold in Europe are consumed here in Britain. By choosing to buy them, we lose our connection with the land and the produce that comes from it. For many, home cooking is largely a lost art, and those ready meals enable families to consume their meals when and where they want around the house - Pot Noodles on the bed, anyone? So food, once something that provided real cohesion for families as they sat together to eat, now seems a way to avoid family life. Feminism, I believe, has played a role in this. 35 years ago I co-founded Spare Rib, Britain's first feminist magazine. Our ambitions were huge: we wanted women out of the home and into the workplace. 'Don't type and don't cook,' we said. As the 70s rolled on, women juggled increasingly complicated lives, and there was little time left for cooking.
"Today, I would argue, most of us have lost touch with where food comes from. Children on Jamie's School Dinners didn't know that carrots came from the ground. ... Cooking is no longer taught in schools. ... For me, the importance of reconnecting with a more natural rhythm was forcibly brought home when I broke my leg in a car accident. It took more than 20 months to heal. The time seemed to stretch endlessly ahead of me. What saved me, in the end, was my garden: planting bulbs and thinking, 'when they come up I will be able to walk without crutches again.' Like everyone in our frantic world, I am used to being able to make things happen, more or less, immediately. But all I could do was create the best environment and then sit back and wait. Once I made that vital connection, I gained a respect for the natural, rather than the man-made order of things. "She goes on to discuss how her gardening turned into a small-holding and how spending money in local stores brings more of the wealth back to the local economy compared with using the major supermarkets.
The reason I wanted to start with this article, is because it reminded me of some of the ire Dirk stirred up when he wrote in his first book about mothers (parents?) getting back into the kitchen and cooking for their families. Some took that to be a chauvinistic view and totally out-dated. But here, we see a strong proud Feminist, who might have argued against Dirk in the 70s and 80s, come to agree with him in the 00s - only took 30 years Dirk!
Love and peace to us all.
xx
DBL
Comments 7
Total Comments 7
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Feminism is really such a misunderstood concept - so many women, like Ms Boycott, thought the only way to be a total person was to get out of the house. I think some of the strongest feminists were among the ranks of "homemakers". Strong, capable, equal partners with their spouses - the only thing they didn't have was the paycheck, "verifying" their value to family and society. A real pity for all concerned.
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Posted 06-19-2008 at 09:49 AM by ostarella
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Thanks DBL for posting that. I really enjoyed reading it. :)
As a woman who has been both a working mother and a stay at home Mom ( when my kids were small ) I get where she's coming from. Ostarella is correct also that not all Feminists are out of the home career women, but homemakers as well. There is a very strong role right there. Being responsible for the health and happiness of not only yourself, but you spouse and children. Before my children were born both my husband and myself were full time working people. Even when our kids were small we stayed working, until it got to the point where I could NOT be SuperMom and between working shifts and three small children ( my youngest just under a year ), something had to go. Of course it was no contest and I quit my "job" and turned in my suits for an apron. So, I began learning how to cook. Not short order or from the box, but the full meal from scratch. A few years went by, I got better at it, and then I read Dirk's book, and then I learned how to REALLY cook. Been doing it ever since. Seven years of domestic life went by until my kids were older and wanted to do more things. Things that cost $$$$. Wanting them to have the opportunities I did not have growing up, I went back to work. As a cook!! So, I took what I learned and applied it to the restaurant I work in, only I have also brought my macro recipes with me and have the opportunity to share, expedentially, what I learned, not only with my children who had the opportunity to watch their Mom cook every meal for them and LEARN about REAL food, but with society. They are the testament to healthy eating. They are lean, clean, and healthy. Masses of energy. Life, I believe, starts in the home. Most of us were conceived in a home, born in a home, etc. It is there, where we do most of our growing, and learning. And where, I believe wholeheartedly, we should be doing our cooking. :) |
| Posted 06-20-2008 at 12:02 AM by |
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Dirk has said (and I'm paraphrasing very poorly, I know) that cooking is the way we show our love for each other. Although I hadn't read that at the time, and didn't know anything about MB either, one thing I always tried to do was cook every meal for my son and I. At least I knew enough to stay away from sugars - he's had one cavity his whole life.
I know a lot of women would disagree (I know I did before I had John) but mothers who can stay home at least when their kids are little are so lucky. I missed out on so many things because I had to work - John took his first steps for the babysitter, not me. And it was hard on him, too - when I'd arrive at the daycare center after work, he'd drop everything and race for me - *huge* hugs. Women who become single moms by choice - I can't understand it myself. They don't know what they'll be missing, even while thinking they're going to "have it all". |
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Posted 06-20-2008 at 07:08 AM by ostarella
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Thanks for the kind comments.
I should have said in my blog that the selective enboldening was my emphasis, not the writer's! There is a survey out today in UK asking people if they think their standard of living has gone up since they were children. Most people said no, it had either stayed same and quite a lot said it had gone down. When I was young, people were paid a big enough 'professional' paycheck to allow one parent to stay home to look after the kids. Nowadays parents feel obliged to both go out to work to pay for the family to 'live'. It's the wrong emphasis for society (IMHO). Also, having switched to MB, I reckon my food bills are half they were before - no ready-meals/takeaways, and freshly made wholesome ingredients! I think as the credit crunch hits, more people are gonnas start making the effort of cooking for themselves and realising their own food is way tastier - even than Marks & Spencer's (sorry for the UK food references to international readers! ) |
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Posted 06-27-2008 at 02:30 AM by deebeelicious
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Ooops - sorry I didn't realise the 'approve comments' thing had been default set - sorry Ostarella that display of your comments has been delayed. Hopefully I've managed to change the settings so no delays to all comments in the future!
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Posted 06-27-2008 at 02:34 AM by deebeelicious
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"Feminism, I believe, has played a role in this.
Another thing to blame women for? Make us feel guilty about wanting a job, make us feel guilty for staying at home. "As the 70s rolled on, women juggled increasingly complicated lives, and there was little time left for cooking" slight problem with that - it's assuming that the women are to be left to do the cooking. Which in many cases was true. Both my mother and father worked full time, guess who did all the cooking, cleaning, looked after the kids? Guess who got to go out with their friends down the pub? Not having a go at anyone here just the bint who wrote the article  |
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Posted 10-24-2008 at 04:08 AM by Missy
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Not sure if I had approved Missy's last comment or not earlier, but I just browsed back into this blog and noticed it. Although I turned the email notification thing on, I don't think it is working! Sorry if there was a delay on this! All feel free to PM me if I don't approve your comments within a few days!
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Posted 02-18-2009 at 09:59 AM by deebeelicious
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