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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels September 21, 2004 Bringing good food home By Bill Choy Ashland Daily Tidings Local cooking guru Rebecca Wood is on a mission - to teach people eating well doesn't have to be a long, drawn-out affair. Professional cook Rebecca Wood teaches people how to fix quick and healty meals. Photo by Denise Baratta | Ashland Daily Tidings One way Wood is bringing that message to the community is by going to people's homes to cook meals that help clients "eat right" for their health and energy. "We all like to eat good food," Wood said. "The problem is people today are so busy and they feel it's too hard for them to eat good food." Wood, who has been a professional cook for more than 30 years, has also written several cookbooks and teaches cooking classes locally and across the nation. She moved to Ashland from Colorado three years ago to be near her grandchildren. For more than a year, she has been a personal chef in Ashland, going to people's homes to cook meals, which can vary from twice a week, to once in a while, she said. "These are normal everyday people who care about eating good food," Wood said. "There's a cultural belief that we don't have time to cook, that cooking is drudgery. I want to change that." Each meal can be her own creations or the customer give her an idea of what they would like to eat, Wood said. "Some people like to have an idea of what I'm going to make and others just like to be surprised," she said. "And when I surprise them it could depend on my mood. One day, I might do Ethiopian cuisine and the next day Vietnamese." During a recent meal, Wood served up a feast of blue corn bread; buffalo chili; eggplant and kale with pine nuts; watermelon and yellow pear tomato salad; fresh dill pickles and fresh cucumbers topped with nori; and a desert of caramelized figs with creme fraiche. Many of the foods and spices she uses comes from her own garden, or from the local farmers' market, she said. "When we eat essential, vital foods, we feel fresh and vibrant," Wood said. "There's quite a difference between a fresh carrot picked from the ground and a carrot that's been through who knows how many distributors, or how long it's been siting on the shelf." Wood made a meal for Sara Scott at her Ashland home shortly after the birth of her daughter, now more than a month old. "She was quite knowledge about food, and it was so healthy," Scott said. "It was so nurturing and so tasty, which was perfect so soon after giving birth. ... In our culture, we can be really removed from a natural state of food. She does a really wonderful job making healthy, delicious food." A key aspect of Wood cooking for people at home, is breaking them out of unhealthy eating habits. Wood has a client that would eat mainly packed mashed potatoes, bagels, deli meat, and frozen foods. With Wood giving her recipes and advice on eating healthier, the woman is now cooking more nutritious foods for herself. "It's really heartening, because she's asking for recipes, trying them and loving it," she said. "That's what it's about, getting people to have a more healthy eating lifestyle." Gini Collier of Ashland has Wood cook for her once a week for health reasons, and appreciates having healthy foods made for her. "She filling a need in my life, by providing balanced, nutritious meals," she said. "I'm definitely eating better ... because we are what we eat. Her cooking comes from her soul and it feeds my soul." Wood also does kitchen coaching, where she goes into people's homes and help them implement a healthy diet. "Whatever you're stumbling block is, I can troubleshoot and adjust it," she said. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams