Apr 25 2008
This week I am going to do something a little different, as Phil and I are busy in Seattle trying to find our hip new digs. Some of you may have noticed, I have been sort of “Seattle-izing” the links page a bit and I thought this week I would draw your attention to some great websites out of Seattle. I will be home soon and promise to report on any epicurean delights I have stumbled upon.
Apr 18 2008
I have this great friend Leslie who is incredibly understanding, laughs at all my jokes and even kept my cheeseburger secret when I fell off of the vegetarian* wagon. Leslie has a level head, gives sound advice and as a wonderful cook makes a terrific sounding board for my new recipes. Several months back we were discussing creativity in cooking when she said something that has resonated with me ever since. She said that while she dearly loves bacon, she feels that many recipes use it as a crutch; sort of a cop out from creativity.
Now before anyone feels the need to step in and defend bacon’s honor, I should say that neither of us were attacking bacon and both are what some would call bacon enthusiasts. What really struck me about what she her words was the word “crutch”. It got me thinking, how often do I just toss on in a handful of parm or another go to ingredient to round out a recipe instead of forcing myself to be creative. Am I relying too much on a limited range of ingredients to get me through? Cooking is about discovery and creation, not limitation. Just because I make a fabulous crepe it doesn’t mean that I should ignore a wide world filled with papadams and moo shu wrappers.This week I am diversifying my repertoire with the addition of adzuki beans, quinoa and spelt.
Apr 11 2008
The first thing I need to tell you is that Steven Spielberg fueled my young imagination through a certain character by the name of Indiana Jones. Many a Friday night in elementary school my dear friend Kim and I would stay up much later than our parents would have liked, incessantly watching Indy retrieve the lost ark and solve clues in the grail diary. We turned our Barbie dolls from plastic sexpot into rough and tumble adventurers, pretending her flowered hat was instead a dusty fedora. I harbored dreams of studying archeology even after I learned that skimming under speeding trucks in pursuit of the lost ark was not part of the job.
