First off, here are a couple of progress pictures of the island.

Liam, getting the drawers together:

The space where the got-together drawers will go:

This blog entry, though, is about the following picture:

These are a couple of glass jars. The jars themselves are from Ikea. The jar on the left is a jar of Kefir that I started this morning. The one on the right is applesauce I made this evening.

Two things stand out to me from this photo.

First, food that has significance is immensely pleasing. My kefir was started from the kefir grains we brought back from Saskatoon. Kyle and Erron had some extras and packaged them up for us so we could make our own yumminess at home. The milk is raw milk from our cow share and was delivered to us by my friend who boards and milks the cows. The applesauce was made from apples the kids and I picked tonight. Our neighbor invited us over to pick some of her apples and as I filled the bag (and all three kids filled their faces) my neighbor and I had a nice visit. They honey I used to sweeten the applesauce comes from one of our Scout leaders who keeps bees locally.

Each time I use these foods, prepare these foods, eat these foods, and serve these foods, these are the stories that fill my heart. These foods with stories bring love into our home and they feed so much more than just our bellies.

Secondly, I'm struck by how food prep in our home has evolved. It used to be that I pulled ingredients together to make a meal and that was that. Sometimes we had leftovers so we would eat the meal a second or third time, but it was a stand-alone deal. These days it seems like there's always something starting or waiting. I'm starting kefir, soaking flour, scooping things into the slowcooker for a meal 9 hours away. The applesauce and kefir of tonight will dip their toes into many meals and recipes in days to come. I'm feeling more and more drawn to this slow food thing, this moving away from opening a jar or can when I could get something ready myself ahead of time.

The food we eat as a family is meaningful. It gives us fuel for our days and a reason to sit around the table a few times a day. I love that I can bring to our table foods that I'm excited to have my kids involved in making and eating with me.