Please Welcome our 2012 Contributing Writers

I'm spending 2012 fulfilling a crazy dream of traveling the world with my husband, Ted, and recounting adventures at www.twoOregonians.com, and while I'm away from home and kitchen comforts, I've asked a handful of terrific friends and writers to continue sharing their real life, real food encouragements and experiences.

Through growing the community of Contributing Writers, Sustainable Food for Thought will continue to bring ideas, how-tos, encouragement, and inspiration to real food friends in the Pacific Northwest and across the web. You'll recognize a few voices from previous posts, Food Group get togethers, and Food Swaps, and you'll find new faces as well. Please join me in welcoming them as they prepare to share their stories this coming year!

Rebekah Pike 
Rebekah is happiest with her nose in a book and enjoys making the most of her pint-sized, apartment kitchen. After leaving work in media production to become a full-time mommy, she began exploring the sustainable living movement, reconnecting with the back-to-the-earth ideals of her hippie parents. She met her husband, Darian, in 2005, working as a camp counselor in Oregon's rugged outdoors. Most of their time is spent chasing after their two year old daughter, Ashlynn, and doing serious “research” at Portland's restaurants, coffee shops and markets.

{Rebekah's friendship in my life is such a refreshing gift. She's one of the most competent, down-to-earth, and true-to-her-convictions women I've ever met. You'll love her! See her posts on Small Batch Canning, Trying New Farms, and Celebrating Rituals of the Season.}

Lindsay Strannigan
@rosemarried
www.rosemarried.wordpress.com
Lindsay is a Portland-based food writer and event coordinator who shares her love of whole and healthy foods, wine, and cooking on her blog and in the company of friends. She creates delicious recipes, often highlighting local ingredients from the Montavilla Farmers Market where she serves as Board Member, and she brings her culinary savvy and event planning skills to our mix, running our seasonal PDX Food Swap.

{Lindsay and I met at the inaugural PDX Food Swap, and she's rocked the food swap party ever since. Her lovely blog is full of celebration and sincerity ~ beautiful recipes to decorate your table, serve to friends, and savor in season. Keep an eye out for her updates here and on Facebook and Twitter regarding future Food Swaps!}

Charlotte Smith
@champoegcreamry
www.champoegcreamery.com
Charlotte passionately believes in the health benefits of a traditional foods diet, especially dairy products from grass-fed cows. She loves sharing time honored traditions of transforming milk into delicious and nutritious cheeses through her classes which are also teeming with nutrition facts and wisdom. Charlotte owns Champoeg Creamery, a pasture based raw milk dairy in St. Paul, Oregon, and is the mother of 3 and a certified Nutrition Wellness Educator.

{I'm lucky to be related to Charlotte; we're first cousins once removed and kindred spirits in the Real Food world. She's been such an inspiration to watch as she's revolutionized her food life and improved her family's health. Whether she's sharing tips for finding a raw milk source, teaching cheese classes, or tending to the well being of her charming cows in order to provide the highest quality accompaniment to freshly baked brownies, she's always sharing her dedication to healthy land, kitchens, animals, and people.} 

Genevieve Cruz
www.pokrovfarm.com

Genevieve and her family moved to a 35 acre farm in Sandy, Oregon to improve their health and begin providing others with good food, too. They specialize in grass fed/finished beef and raw milk. She is a stay at home mom who began researching health and nutrition about eight years ago which led them to become farmers in 2008 and begin selling raw milk in March of 2009. She's learned many things while living on a farm and hopes to continue learning more. She loves having people over to visit and share meals.

 {Genevieve and I met a few years back when I learned that she was providing raw milk, free range meat, and more from her farm in Sandy. I so enjoyed driving out toward Mt. Hood, visiting the baby turkeys that eventually became our Thanksgiving meal, and chatting about Joel Salatin, family farming, and more. She will begin sharing stories on the blog after the arrival of their newest addition to the family this spring.} 

Jesse Buck
Jesse is Bethany Rydmark's {big} little brother. He is a junior in high school and lives on the family farm in St. Paul. He is a video game playing, combine driving, movie watching teenager who also may be found planting the garden, harvesting fresh veggies, snapping food photos in Hipstamatic, cooking dinner for special occasions, and spending an afternoon watching Julia Child episodes and cooking through stacks of recipes with his favorite sister.



{I'm so excited that Jesse is game to share his kitchen experiences on the blog! In the past, the two of us have tackled holiday meal prep together, headed to the vegetable garden to bring in the bounty, and even honed a few choice knife skills at a one-day culinary school. Learning by trying and doing and feeding curiosities should make for fun posts, and you can bet he'll have fun sharing pictures of his final products.}  

Kelsey Willard
Kelsey's Health-Food-Courses

www.lifeatthewillards.blogspot.com
Kelsey is a firefighter/paramedic with Clackamas Fire and a dedicated homemaker who has successfully tackled health issues through alternative cooking. Kelsey shares her love of wholesome food with others through small scale health food courses and friendly conversation. She is dedicated to living well and staying fit, and she and her husband are in excited preparations to grow their family through adoption.


{Kelsey and I knew each other through social circles from high school days, but only after reconnecting through Food Group did I get to know her better and learn about her passion for nourishing foods. I admire her hard work and dedication in all areas of life, and I'm grateful to be able to host her here!}   

Michelle Felt
@meeshfelt

www.feedyourskull.com
Michelle is a graduate of the Raw Gourmet Institute in Chicago, Illinois. Having grown up in the suburbs of Chicago, she has recently relocated to Portland, Oregon, where the produce is crazy fresh abundant and the culture is as thick as the Midwest’s humidity. She loves raw foods and advocates for eating with realism and relish. "Approach each eating experience as an opportunity to nourish your body, eating the best you can, in the moment."

{Michelle and I met this past fall after Portland lured her and her husband to settled down and start a new chapter following time overseas in Ireland, England, France, and Spain. We've spent time together as WordPress buddies, tapping away at laptops at the Laurelhurst Cafe, and I'm always impressed to read about the bright and lively foods she's whipping up in her Portland kitchen.}

~

Whether you've been a faithful Food Group member since 2008, a Food Swapper since 2010, or a blog reader since the beginning of 2012, thank you for being here and sharing the joy and health of food and thoughtful living. All the best to each of you this new year!

~Bethany

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