If you did a little overlapping time line of Annemarie’s and my life, you’d see that we didn’t meet until 2004. But you’d also see many unknown-to-us intersections way before that.

• Both of us have had the opportunity to travel and live around the world
• We have both dated my husband (Annemarie and Caleb “went steady” for a couple weeks in sixth grade)
• We both come from a non-profit background
• We love food!

Cooking, talking about and sharing good food was the backdrop to our growing friendship. Through our separate but extensive travels around the world we have both been captivated by the foods of the countries we visited. We somehow always make our way into the women’s kitchens and try to figure out how we can re-create the meals back home.

The people we’ve met around the world take very simple ingredients and turn them into deliciousness. They are experts! Their knives peel Romanian potatoes with lightning speed, cut Afghan eggplants into perfect slices, twist and pinch Nepali momos into perfect shapes, layer the spices into Indian curries just right.

We have especially been moved by the common threads of humanity that emerge from the life stories we hear in kitchens both home and abroad. People all around the world love their families, and providing good food for them is a huge expression of that love.

Many of the people we’ve visited are very poor. They consume very little meat, receiving protein from eggs and dairy products. They rarely have access to refrigeration so they eat it fresh or find a way to make it last. Nearly every country we’ve visited has some form of fermented milk as a main staple of their diet. The foods they make aren’t overly-sweet. Artificial colors and unpronounceable chemicals never show up at their tables. Their meals are simple. They are pure. They are full of care.

Our travels have shown us what many of us here in the U.S. are missing. Real food brings a slowness, simplicity and a richness to life that goes way beyond the bank account. These people’s lives have inspired us to provide pure, simple, personal dairy products for families here in Nebraska. We are excited to bring home the care — to you.

- daphne

Part 1 of The Why Series