Читать книгу Bobbie's Organic Planet - Bobbie Williamson - Страница 8

I grew up in a family that put great emphasis on eating what I term living food. I do not remember eating much fast food and, to this day, will not touch it. I would much rather whip up something simple, even if I am eating on my own. Mealtimes bring back fond memories for me. We often had family and friends over to make it even more entertaining. Conversations were lively and animated, and that is most likely why I love to throw dinner parties!

I was brought up in the United States and Canada. Both of my maternal grandparents were great cooks, and they passed on that tradition to my beloved mother, Bebe Gregory Williamson. My family was also world-traveled, so our plates were often filled with uncommon dishes for my traditional baby boomer generation. Curries, South American spices, and Mediterranean foods were often served to me as a child, so my taste buds were well-developed at a very young age.

At the age of twenty-one and newly married, I moved to Geneva, Switzerland, where I was quickly introduced to the smallest refrigerators in the world and freezers the size of handkerchiefs. There were no fast-food restaurants, and everyone knew how to cook, including making one’s own salad dressings. I had to shop daily to make our dinners. There were local markets in almost every village, and the grocery stores sold locally grown produce. However, stores and bakeries seemed to have the strangest hours: they were closed at noon and reopened again at 2 o’clock; they then closed again at 6:30. And they were closed on Sundays, as well. Only bakeries were open on Sunday. There were no 24-hour convenience shops to save the day.

Living in Switzerland meant that there were many trips to nearby countries, including France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and England. How I loved to experiment with new cuisines, and I started paying close attention to how regional dishes should really taste. That meant that I had to become adept at using herbs and spices. I started my lifelong habit of buying them wherever I traveled, to incorporate them into my food. My daughters now purchase spices for me on their world travels.

Moving to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, expanded my horizons, as far as cooking is concerned. Going to the date souk (market) was like going back in time. There were huge mounds of differently aged dates, starting with the raw variety. Then, there was the vegetable souk, the fruit souk, the spice souk, and on and on. As I could not work (foreign women were not allowed to work unless nurses or flight attendants) and had to have a driver to get around (no women are allowed to drive), my girlfriends and I would make our outings to various souks.

A lot of my friends had live-in chefs from various countries. Food was the center of our universe, and one did not go to restaurants often in Saudi. There were no theaters, cinemas, or symphonies to attend. We relied on each other for entertainment, so once again, I found myself cooking for friends and loving it. It was actually one of the highlights of my life.

As with all expatriates living in the hottest country in the world, everyone traveled just to get away from the incredible heat. Trips to Turkey, Greece, Europe, the States, Southeast Asia, and other Middle Eastern countries were the norm. I did not complain.

Moving forward, while living in Geneva, I became interested in reading books written about various topics related to Edgar Cayce. As it was difficult to find a wide variety of these books in Geneva, I ordered a catalog from the Association for Research and Enlightenment, Inc. (A.R.E.) in Virginia Beach, where I had spent the first nine years of my life. My daughter Brooke had returned from a vacation in New York about the same time the catalog arrived. She handed me a book by George Anderson called We Don’t Die. I had received a conference schedule with my A.R.E. catalog, and when I opened it, there was a conference featuring George Anderson. So, in my mind, this was a sign. I decided to fly to Virginia Beach and attend a conference there. The George Anderson one was booked, so I went to the following one: “Finding Your Mission In Life.”

Two days after arriving in Virginia Beach and feeling totally at home here, I phoned the girls in Geneva and announced that we were moving. As they say in Hollywood, the rest is history. My girls were fifteen and sixteen, and Switzerland was their home. Do not ask me about our departure at the Geneva Airport. About twenty incredulous friends were there to say good-bye. They just couldn’t believe it! Four transatlantic crossings and five months later, the girls and I had moved to America! My girls cried the whole way over, and people must have thought I had kidnapped them.

I started volunteering at the A.R.E. once I got my girls settled into the American way of life. I loved the Cayce readings regarding food and soon realized that they made perfect sense and were actually quite similar to the very healthy Mediterranean diet I was used to. Eating locally grown and seasonal food was something I had done my whole life without knowing why it was so important. The readings explained much to me and highlighted proper food combining, which can be crucial to one’s health.

I do believe that many of us come full circle in life. I was blessed throughout life to be a part of a family of wonderful souls, from all walks of life, who hold very similar values without necessarily being of the same religion or background. Also, my whole life, I wanted to write a book. Now I have had this wonderful opportunity to write one on what has become my passion—food!

I have had the opportunity to cook for many people who visit the A.R.E. from all over the world, as well as the many staff members who enjoy my food. Most recently, I have started teaching people how to cook tasty meals from scratch, and this is what I truly love doing. There is nothing quite like seeing the look on someone’s face when he or she realizes how simply salad dressings can be made and the superior taste they add to any salad. Or when someone realizes how delicious homemade soups are over canned ones, yet require such little fuss. I hope to be traveling in the near future to teach more people how to take care of their health by cooking living and vibrant foods.

It is my desire that in reading this book, you will feel enticed to throw out your canned goods and start cooking. I hope you will experiment and introduce your loved ones to a whole new way of eating—one that is healthy and based on buying the very best produce you can find—and then fill your cooking with love to make your own creations! If my pots could talk, this is part of the story they would tell. Thank you and good luck!

Bon appetit!