It’s been a slow week here at Spain in Iowa but a busy one for me. School has started and I’m teaching 3 web design classes this semester. I’ve been busy setting up my classes and prepping. I’m really excited to teach this semester as my classes are filled with students really wanting to learn the basics of (X)HTML and CSS! One of my evening classes has 10 professionals in the field of graphic design with 15+ years of experience needing to educate themselves in the web. Can you tell I geek out in code, lol! So with that and 3 sites I’m currently working on, I haven’t had as much time to visit blogs and update my own. Hopefully within the next couple of weeks things can pick up as I am planning an entire week to share about the health and benefits of using animal fats including butter, lard, and tallow.
On another note, I do have some very exciting news! A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa was 1 of 15 bloggers selected to participate in a special cake decorating event with Kelly Ripa to support the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund in NEW YORK CITY! It’s sponsored by Foodbuzz and Electrolux. My hubby is coming with me and we’re staying one extra night to enjoy the town! The cause is amazing and one that effects so many people in this world. I’m really excited to start educating myself on Ovarian Cancer and sharing what I learn. It’s the alarming rates of cancer in this country that really makes it important to stay away from processed and refined foods. The key to our health is in what we eat. As soon as I find out the details I will for sure post on what exactly we’ll be doing and share with all of you 😀
So onto my post! With school starting and me teaching night classes two days a week, I was concerned on what my family would be eating on those nights. On the days that I teach, I’m usually prepping for class especially during nap time! I found that it left me no time to prepare a meal for my family and my hubby was left to fend for himself and the kids. Usually mac and cheese, eggs, or take-out. As I was talking to one of my good friends and Real Food eaters, Rebecca, she mentioned that we used to do things so differently. When Rebecca and I get together we chat, lol! We usually bounce ideas off each other and always end with, we wish we had more time! Time to make things like bread, cheese, pasta etc.. etc.. etc.. Time to spend with other woman in fellowship. It’s time constraints especially in this day in age that makes it impossible to make EVERYTHING from scratch especially when you have other obligations like work outside of the home. As we started to talk about this, she brought it to my attention that even in our grandmothers ages, they didn’t do everything by themselves, they formed friendships and community. They would create groups or gatherings called Bee’s which were specifically formed to get a job done in a large group of women or men and at the same time socialize and learn from each other. What a concept right? Get to know your neighbor and help each other out. There were Bee’s that were formed for quiltmaking, corn husking, building up barns and homes, sewing, preserving and cooking!
According to wikipedia:
the word bee comes from dialectal been or bean (meaning “help given by neighbors”), which came from Middle English bene (meaning “prayer”, “boon” and “extra service by a tenant to his lord”)
At the very same time that I started learning about bee’s I started seeing freezer meals come up on facebook by a group of my friends. I automatically thought what a perfect idea to create a freezer meal bee! A bee where we could all make meals and share within the group. As soon as I mentioned this to one of the ladies on facebook, I was notified that they had already started this exact kind of bee and invited me to join the group! I was so excited! I of course jumped at the invitation. Our freezer meal bee (As I’m calling it, lol!) consists of 6 woman. There are 6 categories of food and the thought process behind that is that each month we rotate on the category. We gather once a month at my friend Abby’s house and cook from about noon to 6pm. Every member in the group has to make 6 of the same kind of meal which we then leave with 6 different meals for the freezer. This was such a huge blessing for me as on the nights that I teach my family has a meal already prepared that only needs to be warmed up in the oven! How perfect is that!! Not only did I leave with amazing meals, but I had so much fun in fellowship with these like minded mama’s! We laughed, chatted and had a great time! The group has a blog, so if you’re interested in any of the recipes that we are creating for the freezer, please visit Abby’s site Food For Later.
Below are some pics I took at my first Freezer Meal Bee gathering 😀
Nehemiah’s friend Wally
Ranching mama, Shanen Ebersole!
Sarah Reid, baby wearing mama and owner of Wallypop, made falafel’s!
I really encourage everyone out there to take a step out of their comfort zones and get to know other people within your community. It’s only through community and brotherly love that we can edify and benefit from one another. I’m so glad to have met this group of urban homesteaders and family farmers. I can’t wait to see what we come up with next month 😀
This post is part of Food Renegade’s Fight Back Friday!
Sounds like such a fun time making the freezer meals! Congrats on your trip to New York!
What a great idea Diana! You are such an inspiration!
You are so Fantastic! This is such an amazing idea. I so wish I was there! I havent come accross anything like that here! Wow, Diana, its so Wonderful to hear this is happening. you really have been a true inspiration to all of us and I hope the bee groups spread world wide! Thank you so very much! Cant wait for some of those recipes!
WOW! Everything looks beautiful and it sounds like a lot of fun!!!
Thanks for sharing! I will start to follow your blog! (I come from Half Hour Meals)
Congratulations on your New York trip! Those falafels look so amazing!
Just wanted to stop by and say what a fabulous post – so informative and inspiring to read. Those recipes sound and look delish, Diana! I hope you will share some of the recipes 😀
especially the vension moussaka *sitting, begging* lol
Congratulations on the exciting news. I can't wait to hear all about the trip, etc. Enjoy!
I would love to do something like that but would have to find a group of vegan momma's!
Blessings!
Amy
What a great idea, and it looks like so much fun!
Such a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
congrats on being selected! That's so exciting!
Hey lady-your nixtmal post talked about getting corn from Azure standard-did you know Paul's grains has it, too?
What a great idea! I love the idea of women getting together to learn from each other and to support each other. All the meals sound great!
I used to teach a lot of night classes and dinner was always a cause of stress for me. I either didn't feel prepared for my classes, or I stressed out over us not eating good food…
Congratulations on being selected for the cake decorating event for the Ovarian Cancer Research fund! How exciting!
This group looks like so much fun! It's a terrific idea, hopefully one of these days I'll be able to build m own bee group!
That looks like you had lots of fun. We usually make pelmeni as a family to freeze for those lazy day.
You can look at this link there's some info on what they are.
http://www.ourwholesomehomes.com/2010/01/pelmeni.html
I hope this kind of camaraderie will be revived in other cities as well. I see a lot of kids holding on to their compact computer games (I can't even remember the name) while having dinner and they focus more on electronics to spend their time. This is a good start.
This is a great idea and a really nice way to make daily cooking even more fun!
Congratulations on the trip to NYC!! That's so awesome! 🙂 I love the idea of cooking together with friends and having so many meals for the week.
LOVE the idea of a freezer meal bee! I'm coveting that sling Sarah is wearing. Oh, and can I say JEALOUS about the NYC trip? I was so bummed when I found out what weekend it was on–we have a family commitment. 🙁
Hola Diana! thanks for your comment on my blog! I know I am already enjoying following you! I hope I can learn more about Spanish food! It's always been my dream to go to Spain, now I want to go to Iowa to try what you cook! 🙂 … I hope you will visit my other blog… You are bread and I am tortilla
it's about my love story and the culture differences my hubby and I have….
I know you will enjoy it!
🙂
Thanks again and have a good weekend.
My girlfriend and I did the same thing last weekend. I work full time and have gone back to school. She came up with the idea of cooking on Saturday to help us both during the week. We had so much fun!
Congratulations on the trip to NYC!
great idea so the lil ones still get a healthy meal I am thrilled for you going to NYC look up Christine from fresh local and best shes lovely, oh go to China town the dim sum is amazing
whats tallow?
Love ya Rebecca
How awesome!
Check out the cookbook giveaway on my blog..
Debra @ Vegan Family Style
hey, I know about busy…sorry just getting to this – congrats on your win and I know you will have a blast…great post and wonderful idea, the foods looks so delicious
Great idea and what a nice variety of dishes. The cooking group that I belong to just got together to fill the freezer of one of our very pregnant members. Hopefully she won't have to cook for the first several weeks!
Great idea, and I'm sure it's a relief, knowing your family won't have to resort to boxed mac n cheese and takeout when you're too busy to cook! Congrats, by the way!
Congrats!!!! I love this idea! If only my kitchen could hold more than 2 people at a time! The enchiladas look muy sabroso! Congrats on the trip to NYC–I'll be glad to offer any travel tips for your visit to my awesome city!
Genial post and this enter helped me alot in my college assignement. Thanks you on your information.
I am so sad you live so far away from me 🙁
In my family we always used cooking as a way to get the women together. A day or two before every big holiday the women would get together and cook time-consuming middle eastern dishes together for the holiday (many, many times it is simply stuffed grape leaves). The rest of the holiday was easy for one person to make herself, but the big dishes took a group of women laughing and prepping together.
It is one of the things I miss most about Rhode Island, and when my aunts and cousins get together now to cook, I feel pain in my heart from wishing I could be there too.