Hello, and welcome. I’m Stacy. As I write this, New Mexico’s green chile season is underway. My neighbor is roasting a basketful, and the sweet, smoky aroma drifts over the patio. I’m getting hungry; my thoughts turn to dinner. I love dinner.

Since becoming ill with ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and POTS over 20 years ago, I have found food playing an ever-more important role in my life. Some of that is medicinal: good nutrition helps me feel as well as possible. Some is logistical: debility has me constantly hunting for ways to stretch energy so that I can eat well. Some is psychological: I am almost housebound, and meals are my greatest source of variety, my most dependable outlet for creativity. I just plain enjoy them.

The pleasures of the table—the vibrant colors of tomatoes and summer squash; the fragrance of chiles smoking on the grill; the feel of a ribbed stalk of celery, the smooth skin of an eggplant; the sizzle of onions hitting hot oil; the sweet, salty, savory, and sour; the crunch or melt of each bite—these things remind me that my body is not just a place of illness but also of enjoyment. Food helps me appreciate the gifts my body gives me.

Good meals matter.

That is the premise of One Spoon Cooking. My goal is to help make good meals do-able to those with few “spoons.”*

These parameters shape my strategies: My diet is Mediterranean, leaning toward vegetarian; I cook for one and don’t work outside the home. I am a moderately good home cook with no chef-y aspirations; my budget is modest but not pinched. With care I have semi-predictable energy, but standing or even sitting up for more than a few minutes poses a challenge.

The parameters are particular to my circumstances, but the strategies are general and widely adaptable to different diets and circumstances. I hope you will find something useful—or even inspiring—here no matter what your situation, no matter how few your spoons. Thank you for visiting.

__________________________

* The spoon refers to Christine Miserando’s Spoon Theory. Miserando uses spoons to represent units of the limited energy “budget” of people with chronic illnesses.