Real Food Kitchen Tour: Real Food Devotee

Welcome to another edition of the Real Food Kitchen Tour. This week we’re featuring Monica Ford, founder of Real Food Devotee  delivery service in Los Angeles.

What’s a Real Foodie?

A “real foodie” is someone who cooks “traditional” food. We cook stuff from scratch using real ingredients, like raw milk, grass-fed beef, eggs from chickens that run around outdoors, whole grains, sourdough and yogurt starters, mineral-rich sea salt, and natural sweeteners like honey and real maple syrup.

We don’t use modern foods that are either fake, super-refined, or denatured. This includes modern vegetable oils like Crisco and margarine, soy milk, meat from factory farms, pasteurized milk from cows eating corn and soybeans, refined white flour, factory-made sweeteners like HFCS or even refined white sugar, or commercial yeast.

We believe in eating wholesome, nutrient-dense foods that come from nature. So we shop at farmer’s markets or buy direct from the farmer, or we grow food in our own backyards.

This Week’s Real Food Kitchen Tour: Monica Ford, Real Food Devotee

Monica Ford lives right here in Los Angeles — but I don’t see her too often because we live on opposite sides of town. And this is a big city. But every time I do see her, I get a big smile on my face. She’s just that kind of person. So happy and optimistic, so inspiring.

And now I know why. If I had Monica’s kitchen, I’d be happy all the time, too. Because dang, y’all. This is one gorgeous kitchen.

Monica started a business recently called Real Food Devotee. If you live in the Los Angeles area and want nutrient-dense food delivered to your home or office, visit her website to learn more. I have tried her Ginger Kombucha and it is fabulous!

Blog Name:  Real Food Devotee
Blog Author: Monica Ford
How Long Blogging: 4+ years
Location: Los Angeles
House or Apartment: Lovey Dovey House
Size of Kitchen: 16×14
Things You Love About Your Kitchen: I live in a 108-year-old Craftsman home. It is full of light and warm woodwork. The kitchen is pretty wonderful and spacious. A joy to cook in on my own or with friends and loved ones. Believe me, I’ve had my share of tiny kitchens. When I think back to Thanksgiving Dinner made in a tiny New York City apartment, I cannot help but laugh to the point of tears…. topsy turvy bowls upon pots, upon counters, upon makeshift shelves. A grand topple always only a breath away.
Things You Would Change: Deeper cabinets! Builders of yore, what in the world were you thinking? Certainly not of my pot, jar and enormous cast iron skillet fetish!
Favorite Tools & Gadgets: Cast Iron Skillets, PINK Immersion Blender, Authentic Dairy Bar Milk Shake Machine, Deep Freezer, Champion Juicer, Circa 1940 Gas Stove, Heart-Shaped Cookie Cutters (Everything tastes better in heart-shape!), Glass Jar and Bottle Collection.
Biggest Challenges Cooking Real Food: Planning. Remembering to put everything we need on my farmers market list and not talking to farmers at the market so long that the day is gone. LOVE ME SOME FARMERS!
Current Family Favorite Meal: Wild Arugula Salad with raw milk yogurt dressing, Traditional German Kraut with Caraway Seeds and My Mama’s Chicken Soup. A Glass of Pomegranate Kombucha and Raw Vanilla Ice Cream with a nourishing version of magic chocolate shell for desert!
Favorite Cookbooks: Book of my Mama’s hand written recipes! Pile of napkins with both Grandmothers’ recipes scribbled down. Lot’s of online sources! And…  [easyazon_link identifier=”0307464911″ locale=”US” tag=”cheeseslave0e-20″]Larousse Gastronomique[/easyazon_link],  [easyazon_link identifier=”0375413405″ locale=”US” tag=”cheeseslave0e-20″]Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1[/easyazon_link]by Julia Child,  [easyazon_link identifier=”0060585366″ locale=”US” tag=”cheeseslave0e-20″]The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating[/easyazon_link] by Fergus Henderson, Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon-Morell, and [easyazon_link identifier=”0714862568″ locale=”US” tag=”cheeseslave0e-20″]The Silver Spoon[/easyazon_link].

Here are some photos of Monica’s kitchen:

I’m in love with that stove! Not to mention the beige and white cabinets, that lovely cabinet hardware… ahhh and the wooden counters!

Yes, it really is hot enough in Los Angeles in November that you can get away with wearing a dress like that. Well, at least Monica can! 😉

Love the glass doors on the cabinets!

Monica, please comment and let us know where you got those awesome kombucha jars. I like the dishcloths, too.

And you must let us know where you bought this larder. Some antique store in the midwest? It’s gorgeous! Love the bowl and pink immersion blender, too!

Here are some of the things you can get from Monica’s delivery service. Click here to learn more: Real Food Devotee

Check Out the Previous Real Food Kitchen Tour Posts

Real Food Forager
The Leftover Queen
Health Home & Happiness

Let Us Tour Your Kitchen

Are you a real foodie? Do you have a kitchen that you’d like to see featured on CHEESESLAVE?

Please email me at annmarie AT realfoodmedia dot com. Either send me a link to a Flickr set or email me your photos (minimum of 5, but more is better). Note: Please send me LARGE photos. Minimum 610 width (horizontal shot) or 610 height (vertical). If they’re too small, I can’t use them.

Oh, and please send the answers to the above questions (at the very top of this post).

As much as I’d love to include all the photos I receive, I can’t guarantee that I will use your photos in the series. I’m looking for creative, good quality photos.

Some ideas for photos:

• Show us what’s in your fridge or what’s fermenting on your counter
• Take some snaps of some of your favorite kitchen gadgets, or show us how you organize your spices
• Got backyard chickens? Send some pics!
• How about a lovely herb garden?
• Kids or pets are always cute!
• Try to include at least one photo of yourself, ideally in your kitchen

And no, you don’t have to have a blog to be included in the tour.