Where I’m from

When talking about food and our relationship with it, we can not leave out our history, or where we started.

While I was born and spent most of my life in Germany, My family is from the south. Mother is from SC, daddy is from WV by way of VA and other members are from various other southern states.

What does this mean?

Well, for the most part, it means we love food. Food is an integral part of our lives. From weddings, to funerals, to family gatherings…food is important. Almost as important as the event itself. recipes are handed down from family member to family member, sometimes closely guarded like Fort Knox. My father has a BBQ sauce recipe that you would have to give up kidney before he gave it to you. Food is life and a huge part at that. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, New Years…you name the holiday and I can bet that there will be spread for that will make your eyes pop.

Other southerners, true southerners, will understand what I’m saying. There is love in every bite and pride as well. Some people compete in sports, southerners compete in food. Who’s got the best mac n cheese, who’s got the best biscuits. You get the picture.

This has lead me to have a very full appreciation for food. I do not eat to live. I live to eat. I enjoy every aspect of food…for the most part. I can still eat sausage and beef even though I’ve seen it being butchered. That would be the WV in me. I know what is is and isn’t in a hot dog and I still enjoy a chili dog. Very little can turn me off food, though there are foods that turn me off. Chitterlings top that list…every time. Food is the easiest way to cheer me up and put my mind at ease.

Whether or not you can trace my weight to this food history, I’m not sure. I know there are other southerners out there that do not have the same weight issues that I do, so perhaps not. I just know that food was never really the enemy in my house. Perhaps my love of it was too much love, but it was not the foods fault.

So I want to know…what is your food history? How is food viewed in your home?