Me, 2008
I guess you could say this blog is my non-linear gastro-autobiography . I am a vegetarian locavore living in the coastal South. My food philosophy is best described by quoting Alice Waters, “There is a profound disconnection between the kind of human experience that our society values, and the way we actually live our lives. Most people submit unthinkingly to dehumanizing experiences of food-in-workplace cafeterias, food courts, and fast food chains. How can one marvel at the world and then feed oneself in a completely unmarvelous way? I think it’s because we don’t learn the relationship of food to agriculture and of food to culture, and how food affects the quality of our everyday lives. There is nothing else as universal. When you understand where your food comes from, you look at the world in an entirely different way.”
I think my greatest talent has to be finding ways of procrastinating work on the novel I’m supposed to be writing and have outlined extensively. I’ve concocted some pretty elaborate methods of avoiding it. This food blog is my latest endeavor. Last year I took a Master Gardening course. The year before that I was elbow deep in glue as I took on numerous (unfinished of course) collage projects. And the year before that I did exhaustive research for the novel, swearing that I’d get down to the actual writing “next month” and cease and desist all trips to archives and libraries…all Google marathons.
So this year I started writing. However, it was on a completely different project. A novella. I am determined to finish it.
When you live your life with such a short attention span and inclination to procrastinate projects that become too “involved,” you seek out forms of instant gratification to help stroke the ego left battered and depressed from “failing” to complete longer projects. Cooking is something I do every day because I love to eat (who doesn’t) and I enjoy the art of creating meals. Plus I start, finish, and devour my work within a very short time span…the devouring part is particularly quick.
But then what? Who, other than my husband, gets to share in that? So here I am…procastinating really…but also sharing my food craft and life stories with you. I hope you’ll take time to make some of the recipes from my blog project –for as long as I stick with it–and will share some of your life stuff and food craft with me.
Bon appetit! –I don’t know French. I throw it in for zing.
