FOOD FOR THE SOUL - Recipes From Around The World

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Introduction
by
Diana Hatch

I first met Kim Robinson when she contacted me about creating her web site for her book 'The Roux In The Gumbo'. Kim told me what she envisioned on her web site and we created it. I have always had an obsession in creating/making things, be it food, crafts, quilts, jewelry and ever since the technology of computers hit my house, even web sites and web graphics.

Kim asked me to write an introduction for this book. I have never done this before and I thank her for the opportunity to do this. She called me one day and told me about the vision she had for this cook book and asked me if I could help her in finding a way to do it. So, I became a part of this project, so I could help her create the vision she saw for it.

If you have not read Kim's book, 'The Roux In The Gumbo', I highly recommend you do. It is not only a span of historical information, but a very moving and emotional journey through her family and her ancestor's lives. While reading this book, I was drawn to Kim's grandmother, Helen, and I will explain why.

Kim told me she chose the name of this cook book , 'Food For The Soul', because of her grandmother, Helen. While reading about her grandmother, it made me think of mine. When I was around six years old, I remember getting up on the chair at the kitchen table at my grandmother's house. She helped me roll up my sleeves and taught me how to make homemade biscuits. I remember the feeling of the flour and lard between my fingers as I mixed up the dough. I recall grandma's voice telling me to mix the dough gently, not too much because the dough needed to be crumbly or the biscuits would not be light and flaky. She told me to feel the dough and judge by the feeling, how much flour to add (my grandmother rarely measures anything). I remember the satisfaction and pride I felt when grandma told everyone I helped make the biscuits. I remember the happiness it brought me to see everyone eating what I helped to create......and so began the love I have for cooking and baking.

These are segments from Kim's book, 'The Roux In The Gumbo':
[Helen, whom everyone called 'Mother,' would feed anyone who was hungry. She always said, "Anything I give, God will make sure I get back tenfold."]

[Mother was the kind of woman that no matter what you did she is "gonna" still love you unconditionally. ]

[Anyone could knock on Mother's door or come into her café, and say they were hungry and she would feed them. If you needed clothes, she would take you to her second-hand store and clothe you. Many people took advantage of this, but she knew exactly what was going on.]

The more I read about Helen, the more I thought of my own grandmother. I have watched my grandmother help those in need, all my life. I have seen her find clothes at various charities for those who had none. I have seen her find assistance with groceries and even give people food from her own kitchen cabinets when they needed it. I have seen her help battered and/or abandoned wives find the help they needed to care for themselves and their children. I have seen her help men who lost their jobs, due to hard times or due to lack of better judgement on their parts. Time and again she helped those who others felt didn't deserve what my grandmother did for them. Grandma would say, "We are all God's people, some of us just fall on hard times now and then and need a little help"...... and so began the sense of self worth and accomplishment I feel, when I help others.

I have watched her seeking help for others, while in her own life, she did not know how her rent would be paid that month. I have heard my mother, aunts and uncles (her children) tell her to take care of herself, let someone else worry about those she was helping. She would say, "God knows my needs and will provide" and "I cannot turn a naked eye to those who need help." My grandmother's rent has always been paid and to this day, no one leaves my grandmother's house hungry. Her love of cooking feeds our hunger, but the togetherness of the family feeds our souls.

My grandmother has taught me so many things. She taught me the love, satisfaction and enjoyment in cooking a meal for others. She taught me the sense of charity and how that makes you feel when you give to those who need help. She taught me the meaning of creating something with my hands and how it made you feel inside and as wonderful as that feeling was, it bore little light on how it made you feel when you gave what you created to another. Most importantly, she showed me the kind of woman I wanted to become, when I grew up. I can only hope that I can touch half the people and make a difference in half the lives, in my lifetime, that my grandmother has and continues to do in hers.

Who would have guessed that life long lessons would begin to blossom in a little girl standing on a chair, hair up in pigtails, elbow deep in a bowl of dough? I believe my grandmother knew.

I became a part of this publication with these thoughts in mind. In memory of Kim's grandmother, Helen, and in honor of my grandmother, Virginia. Two women who were a world apart. Two women who endured much hardship in their lives, but with their thoughtfulness, compassion, generosity and loving hearts, they made this world a better place for a lot of people. This world needs more people of their kind.

I hope you enjoy all the great recipes that everyone is sharing in this cook book, 'Food For The Soul'.

Click here for recipe for Grandma's Biscuits

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