Welcome to What
To Server A Godess

Book by James Robert Deal

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I really enjoyed writing this book. There were a thousand times while researching it that I had insights new to me, when I discovered connections I had not realized existed, when I caught sight of a bigger picture not seen before. Writing is a form of medication. It's also hard work. I have been working on this book since 1994.

Thanks to my wife and partner Emelyn Deal for her feedback and for her help with many of the recipes in chapter 21. Thanks to Patti Scherer for her watercolor of the goddess which appears on the front cover. When I first saw it, I was immediately charmed. In the complexity of the goddess’ expression, I see not only sadness and disappointment, but also strength and even an ultimate confidence that she will win in the end. Her victory will be to bring peace and justice to the world. I hope Patti’s watercolor helps you feel, more than just understand, this book.

Thanks to my adopted sister Betsy Reid for editing several of the many drafts of this book, for contributing most of the drawings in this book, and for teaching me a lot about cooking, gardening, politics, and botany. Her drawings appear on the following pages: 3, 21, 23, 26, 28, 35, 38, 216, 223, 251, 299, 304, 325, 328, 330, 333, 334, 338, 344, 347, 359, 363, 365, 366, 367, 368, 369, 370, 371, 372, 373, 375, 376, 379, 380, 382, 383, 384, 385, 386, 389, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, and 404.

Thanks to my sister-in-law Valerie Pateño, nurse and aspiring artist, for the drawings in this book on the following pages: 53, 81, 91, 92, and 229. Thanks to good friend Sonia Telesco for her design, layout, and editorial feedback, and for the drawing of the couple facing each other in prayer on page 221. Thanks to my mother, Elizabeth Deal, for teaching me several of the recipes in this book and for singing to me as a child. Mom died at 90, on May 30, 2007. She lived with us for the last five years of her life. I think the good diet we fed her in her final years helped her last as long as she did. Google “Elizabeth Abraham Deal” to read more about her story. Thanks to the reference staff at the Edmonds and Lynnwood Libraries for working so hard to obtain rare and out-of-print books from libraries across the country. DISCLAIMER I am a lawyer and mortgage broker, not a physician or nutritionist.

The discussion of health issues in this book is not intended as medical advice and should not be taken as such. If you are making medical decisions, please consult with the appropriate professional. Use this book only to identify issues and not to reach definitive treatment prescriptions. The small sum I am receiving for this book does not purchase my responsibility for medical decisions you claim to derive from it. I regret that we live in such a litigious society that it is necessary to bore you with such disclaimers. IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION I eat the way I do because it is my own personal calling. I do not impose my calling on others. I do not condemn others for eating differently. I simply ask that you consider my position, let your conscience be your guide, and go as far as you are able in the direction I have gone.