Duffy-Someck - Dancing in the Kitchen

DANCING

in the Kitchen

Colleen Duffy-Someck

Copyright 2016 by Colleen Duffy-Someck

Cover photo by Shawn Peterson of Peterson Portraits

The information contained herein is for educational purposes only and is not meant to diagnose, prescribe, or treat any condition. This information should not be used as a substitute for medical counseling with a qualified professional.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Balboa Press

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

ISBN: 978-1-5043-4635-1 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date: 1/20/2016

Contents

preface

Before the words were born onto the pages that would become my book, I knew what the title would be. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen preparing food for my family and friends, and I realized one day that I actually dance while Im cooking. Standing in front of the stove, I move two steps to the right to stir my pot of beans. Remembering I need carrots, I twirl and take three steps forward to get to the refrigerator. With a half turn and two steps to the left, I arrive at the sink to wash the carrots. With each day and each delicious meal, a different dance is created.

Sometimes when we dance, we have a partner. Its important to watch, feel, and follow each others steps so that together our rhythms are one, creating a beautiful dance. The image that comes to mind when I think about dancing in the kitchen is a connected and conscious dance between our bodies and food, preparing and eating healthy nourishing meals with balance and awareness. Following the leads of hunger and fullness can guide our steps in a graceful dance with food.

I dont recall how many times Ive heard or used the phrase, dancing through life. Just like dancing to music, we each hear our own lifes tune. We maneuver our way through the years with a style and rhythm that arent quite the same as anyone elses. So my story is about my lifes dance, as it twisted and turned through twenty years of an eating disorder to eventually find healing through dancing in the kitchen.

Dancing is so personal. It is an expression of the soul. The way we move when we hear music is unique to each and every one of us. How we hear the music and the way it makes us feel determine how we move our bodies to express our uniqueness. But lets say that you want to learn a particular type of dance, so you take lessons. Once your dance moves are perfected and you know them by heart, you can add slight variations to make it your own. This cookbook is meant to share some of my cooking moves with you. My goal is to help you build a foundation of preparing foods in a way that may be more nourishing and healthy. My hope is that once you learn my recipes, you will find the confidence to add your own personal touch, making each recipe your own. By adding your own flare, you will make them ideal for you and your familys taste buds. Cooking, like movement, is both an expression of the soul and a way to nourish the spirit.

The recipes here encourage flexibility and experimentation. You choose a recipe, learn how its made, and then make it your own. I give you the basic steps, and once you feel comfortable, you have the freedom to add your own personal twist. Play and have fun preparing your own dishes. Cooking to feed yourself and those you love is a lovely dance, a dance that is definitely worth learning. It is my honor to share my story and recipes with you in hopes that they may show you a new way of dancing in the kitchen.

Life is a journey, not a destination. Its not about the arrival but all that is learned in the process of getting there. I believe that it is important to keep this adage in mind, and I remind myself of these wise words daily.

I dont consider myself religious. Spiritual? Yes. Some days I wish I were more spiritually evolved than I am now. When I reflect upon where I was thirty years ago, I sometimes dont recognize the person I was. I have made so many changes over the years that my memories can feel like figments of my imagination. Today, I am so differentmentally and emotionallyfrom the person I was before I embarked on a twenty-year journey at the age of eighteen. And yet, the experiences of my life are lessons that brought me to where I am today, right here, right now.

This is my story. Some, whose paths have intersected with mine, may weave a different tale of the experiences we shared because their view of these events is seen through their eyes, not mine. So to those of you who know me, I say, this is how I perceived my life through my eyes and mine alone.

Have you ever had an ah-ha! moment about something that happened years earlier? You realize you missed something really big in your perception of the event. I had a very big ah-ha! moment when I started writing this story.

My childhood was rough. I didnt have many friends, was teased a lot, and wandered rather aimlessly through my preteen years. I was born in the middle of eleven children, and even though I had many siblings around me, I felt lonely and lost. I dont have many memories of these years except one, one that changed my life forever.

In 1972, I celebrated my twelfth birthday. I had invited a few girls over for my party, and we were eating cake and opening gifts when my mom called to me. Hey, I think I see something in the backyard. I looked through the sliding glass doors that opened up to our backyard and didnt see anything unusual, so I went back to opening presents. I heard her voice again. Why dont you go outside and see what that is? Unwillingly, I went to the door and still saw nothing. My friends encouraged me to step outside, and when I did, my life changed forever.

Outside was a beautiful chestnut-colored horse. Was this horse for me? As I looked into the faces of everyone standing there with me in the yard, their expressions told me the answer was yes! My parents had bought me a horse for my birthday! MY PARENTS HAD BOUGHT ME A HORSE!!! I ran to the mare and couldnt wait to get on her. I adjusted the saddle, put my foot in the stirrup, and pulled myself up and into the tack. I rode around our yard like a queen while everyone cheered! Was this really happening to me? Was she really mine? I was so full of joy, and I couldnt remember a time that I was happier. I had been taking riding lessons but never thought in a million years that I would have a horse of my own.

This mare, Mecca, became my confidant, my best friend, and my teacher. I loved her so much! As the years went by and I became a teen, my love for Mecca grew deeper and stronger. I spent many hours riding her bareback in the fields behind our house, never tiring of her company. Mecca and I became one when we were together. I could ride with just the twine from a bale of hay around her neck, and we would travel for miles. All I needed to do was think about where I wanted to go, and Mecca would just know where to take me. To this day, I dont know how we communicated. What I do know is we understood each other so well, we were so free together, and we had a heart-to-heart connection.