A Sea Change
May 21, 2009
If you like this recipe, I am sure you will love these related recipes!
Things are transforming a bit for me and my food. Aside from a minor makeover, my kitchen looks the same, but something strange and exciting has been born in there—my appetite to write. I started this blog over a year ago, with the hope of learning to cook. What I’ve learned more than anything is that I love to eat… and then talk about it. I certainly know more about food than I ever have, but the food has only really been a muse for my mind and my pen. Or my keyboard, as it were.
I wish I could invite you in and share with you whatever successes or failures come my way over the open oven or the blue-lit stove. Since I can' t, I' ve settled for limning them, and found it to be at least as satisfied as the cooking experiences themselves. As much as I love keeping this site going, daily life steps in too often, and gets me off track. I scramble some eggs, stir fry some vegetables and feel like a miserable failure for not testing or inventing a more interesting recipe to share.
Lately, though, I' ve been feeling restless and a little blue. Those feelings come over me like a piece of bad news: even if you put it out of your mind, a cloud of dread still lingers. That is how I feel when I don' t let myself write. For some reason, I' ve grown so attached to writing about food, that I don' t feel like I have the right to write (ahem) without something delicious to show for it.
But what if I just wanted to say that the light is nice in my kitchen this afternoon? That the dog, Lupe, is jingling around and sniffing for crumbs from recently-made strawberry scones, and putting a smile on my face, even if she opens the pantry door and can' t close it up again? It feels good just to say these things, to talk about what brings me joy and adds some beauty to the world, even if it' s not a soufflé. Which, I admit, I have not yet learned to make.
In the meantime, I am in the process of redesigning TASTE somewhat so that all of the things I have learned (and really learned, not just half-learned) will be indexed in a more organized, sensible manner. This site a little messy right now, and I' d really love to make each part of it as transparent and accessible as the Ball jars make my sugar, flour and quinoa. It' s coming…
Before that happens, though, I' ll be writing a little bit more of myself into this ever-evolving process. Here' s a start: I am 24, a former Comparative Literature and Cinema major at the University of Pennsylvania. I lived in New York for a year after, studying theater and writing, and moved to Houston in 2007 as a journalist because I fell in love. His name is Christopher, and he is the kindest, wittiest and handsomest man I' ve ever known. I want to feed him. I want to immortalize him.
And here is how I became a food writer: writing about the news all day made me sad. Journalism left me cold, and, frankly, pretty hungry. To me, cooking is an infinitely more appealing and interesting subject than the rise and fall of politicians and markets. The kitchen is where I discover my ability to create something out of nothing—and not just any something—smells, sounds, colors, tastes. I am a regular alchemist over here, especially because a good piece of cornbread or a perfectly grilled zucchini really is as good as gold. It' s the best fodder there is.
I discovered that writing about the way bread bakes, or the way a fennel bulb turns sweet and diaphanous in the oven makes me happy, simple as that. Almost as much as eating itself. But I' ve kept myself out of this somewhat: not wanting to overload my readers with stories of myself, my fiancé and my friends. Well anyway, I' ve decided that' s stingy and mean, mostly because my life is worth sharing—for my moments of ebullience, of blues, but most of all, for my deep, passionate affair with food and words.
In the meantime, here are some carrots from Tuesday' s farmer' s market. Inspiring, aren' t they?
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- May 25, 2009: Flatbread with Spring Vegetables « TASTE
I love reading all that you write, because it brings me joy. I have tried many of the recipes you share. If I want something new to fix on the weekend when I most like to cook, I read your blog and I find what I need. Your stories that go along with your recipes only make it better!!