The Food Culturalist

Thanksgiving 2012: Camping in the Ozarks

Thanksgiving really snuck up on me this year. All of a sudden it was a week away and we hadn’t booked the plane tickets that we’d promised, and I was feeling like this year Thanksgiving was going to be a big disappointment. Then one night over a few beers a friend mentioned that a group of climbing buddies was planning a quick trip up to Horseshoe Canyon Ranch in northern Arkansas. Immediately we each decided that this was the Thanksgiving we needed. The four of us decided to leave late wednesday night and enjoy our Thanksgiving by camping in the Ozark National Forest. 

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So Crunchy!

I have a big crush on granola right now. I’ve been making it religiously for the last few months and eat it at least a few times a week. My favorite is made with lots of nuts and seeds and maple syrup and kosher salt and baked until it’s very toasty. This granola is best on greek yogurt with fresh berries and maple syrup. I had some this morning but talking about it makes me want some right now! This recipe is an adaptation of Lily Stockman’s recipe, Steve’s Best Damn Granola. It really is the best but I can never remember the proportions so I made my recipe based on the skills I learned from hers. These proportions are all approximate – I tend to scoop and sprinkle as I go, not so much measuring the ingredients as feeling their their balance with my fingers and eyes.

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Hey everyone! In time for the new year I’ve converted Food Culturalist to a brand new blog and platform: Liberty and Lunch! Please check it out!

A little introduction about the switch: I’ve been procrastinating and planning for quite some time, this little idea that is now out there on the big big internet. Over the years I’ve had a number of blogs and websites to document my school work and portfolio, my ideas, and things I like, but none of them ever successfully compiled and organized all of the things I was currently working on, exploring, making or discovering. So over the last 8 months I’ve slowly developed this new platform – L+L for short – as my new endeavor to share my life and explore the things I’m passionate about. What I envision Liberty and Lunch being all about:  

I believe that Liberty should not be solely defined as a noun – freedom from oppression – but also as a verb: the act of living out one’s freedoms, being wholly present in expressing and incorporating those freedoms into one’s philosophy of life, and actively creating (and living) the best life possible – through adventure and new experiences, fostering mutually beneficial relationships, and building a legacy worthy of the history books.  

Lunch, of course, refers to food! The interplay of food culture, growing vegetables, cooking for oneself and sharing meals with one’s family, handing down recipes, tools and techniques – and the larger issues of environmental responsibility, food distribution, genetically modified crops and access to healthy food option – all are concepts that I am constantly exploring and have a lot of passion for.   I’ll be sharing my life experiences, cooking endeavors, and whatever else I discover and find interesting on Liberty and Lunch, and I hope you’ll check back for updates! If you want to read more about me, check out the About page.  

If you notice problems with the new code or would like to recommend topics for me to cover, please leave me a comment!  

Happy New Year! -Katie