Go Ahead Take A Bite

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Time To Spill It ~ Life, Passion and Food


Ahhh... sailboats moored at sunset. Looks peaceful, doesn't it?

No... We didn't buy a new boat. Hell, we don't even have an old boat. So. Why the picture? Well, I guess I'm just doing a bit of wishful thinking. It was a really long Winter and I can't remember a time in all of my life when I was this happy to see a new season on the horizon. I realize that Spring has sprung for some regions of the country, but at the moment, my neck of the woods has been doing a cruel, flip-flopping dance between late winter and early Spring. Last Tuesday, the temperature topped out at 80 degrees. On Thursday, the thermostat never crept over 48. Today's forecast says it's supposed to reach the mid to high 70's. The last time (about an hour ago) that I looked at the thermometer, it was 64. But, that's enough about the weather...

Earlier this morning, I was looking at some of the "discussion" posts on a LinkedIn group that I belong to  and someone had asked the question: "Do you consider yourself a foodie?" (It's a group for foodies, of course) So, I  took a gander at a few of the replies and it got me thinking about my own obsession with food and why so much of my life is centered around it.  Let's see....

I love going out for dinner.
And lunch.
And breakfast.
And dessert.
I cook.
A lot.
I host (and cook for) the majority of my family's holiday celebrations and special occasions.
I collect cookbooks.
And I read them like most people read novels.
I have cupboards and drawers and shelves and boxes, filled with pots, pans, utensils, gadgets, table linens, dishes and serving pieces.
I get more excited about grocery shopping, than I do about clothes or shoe or chotchki shopping. (and I really love to shop for clothes and shoes and chotchkies)
I talk (a lot) about food.
My food board on Pinterest has 10 times more pins than any other 10 boards, combined.
I blog about food.

Hmmmm...

Yeah... it's a little cluttered, but it works for me. :~)
How long has food been an obsession a passion for me?

Well... there was a time in my life when I had planned to become a professional chef. I was 16 years old and a junior in high school; and like most teenagers, I was absolutely, positively and unequivocally sure, that I had it all figured out. My parents were behind the idea 100%... for about a minute. Then, (insert sounds of screeching breaks here) common sense, aka fear, took over and they decided that life as a "cook" was not at all what they'd envisioned for their daughter. Nope. Absolutely, positively, unequivocally, N.O. (insert visual of deflating balloon here)

Source: Google Images
So, life went on. Time went by. I started a career, got married and had babies. Not necessarily in that particular order, but these were all things that my parents had envisioned for me.

All in all, it's been a damned good life, so far. Of course, there have been difficult times, too. Roads to cross. Tough decisions to make. Tears have been shed. Many tears. But, that is what life is. For all of us. We all experience the same duality in our lives. Good and not so good. (I don't really care for the "b" word) Positive and negative. Yin and yang.

There have been people sharing this journey with me. Good people, who've brought light into dark days, comfort when there's been pain, strength to a fearful heart and hope to a grieving soul. Loving people, who have fed my spirit. And isn't that the kind of food that matters most of all?

So, yeah... I'm definitely a foodie.

How about you... Are you a foodie too?


6 comments:

  1. I can't say that I am a Foodie, but as I fully understanding Food is to my recovery, my interest in Food is growing. So, life takes us on twisting and turning roads. You never know where they will go!

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    1. Food can definitely be an integral part of healing and maintaining the body's delicate ecosystems. Our ancestors used all types of food as medicine and loads of our current MD prescribed pharmeceuticals are plant based.

      I think a lot of the foods that we crave have direct ties to what our bodies need at that particular time. Take salad, for instance... I literally crave the stuff when I haven't had it in a couple of days and I believe it's because my various health issues create a situation where I am lacking the specific nutrients in leafy greens and other vegetables.

      If you do start spending more time in the kitchen, I know a place where you can go for new recipes to try! (wink wink) LOL XOXO

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  2. Let's see? I have a big book case full of cook books and boxes of books still in the garage. I have two gardens. One is in the ground the other is in raised beds. I tape cooking shows. Have almost every kitchen gadget known to man. Make my own Breads, sausage, bacon, cakes, noodle, and vanilla extract. (I could go on but I think you get the point.)Oh, and I can. Ya, I think I am a Foodie.

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    1. I would certainly say so, Michelle! I've thought about trying my hand at canning many times over the years, but I never seem to get motivated enough to do it. From all that I've read and the videos I've watched, it's a real commitment (a very worthwhile one, too) and not something that you do half heartedly, so I'd want to be sure that I was able to follow through. I have done bread, cakes and vanilla. Maybe one of these days, I'll buckle down and do some canning, too. :~)

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  3. Hmmm, I thought I'd already posted a comment here but I'll try again. Yep, millions of cookbooks (and a lot of inherited ones and Julia Child ones and Cooking from Around the World ones and a ton of Cajun ones and...), a giant boot shoe-box stuffed full of cut out, written down, torn pages of recipes, four card holder boxes, 2 small, 2 large, and tons of gadgets, baking & kitchen. Since we switched to eating chemical-free, I've been digging into the older cookbooks for healthy cooking ideas since they rarely had access to the types of processed garbage we have today. We make our own healthy BBQ sauce, bread, and things like that. Yep, I'm a foodie-type person.

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    1. Hmmm... If you did comment on this one before, it could have ended up in my spam folder. Back when I was getting bombarded with the stuff, I was trying to weed out all of the "good" comments as best as I could, but I'm now thinking I might have missed a couple here and there. Sorry about that, darlin'!

      I have boxes and boxes of cut out/torn out stuff too. I keep telling myself that one of these days, I'm gonna go through and organize them. Ha! Not likely any time soon. LOL

      We've always tried to eat local organic food when possible and are definitely trying to do more of it. If you're looking for some healthy, back to basics cooking and recipes, I sub to a few youtube channels that have excellent recipes and old fashioned "homekeeping" tips, like canning and preserving. Let me know if you're interested and I can give you the channel info, etc.

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Spill your heart out!