"Cooking is repetitive and unglamorous." I just read that in a book. It was said by a famous chef who made creative, artful dishes (like fish cocktail in a martini glass, topped with fish shave-ice), charged big bucks for them, and had a string of fancy restaurants all over the world. I think his sentiment really gets to the heart of the contradiction in cooking. Those of us who have the passion and artistry for it must also admit that it is tedious work, day after day. Sometimes you just can't make a more interesting fried rice. Sometimes a sandwich is just a sandwich. Sometimes we have to dig very, very deep to find inspiration to sustain the dreary hours spent in the kitchen. After cleaning up again, and again, and again.
This blog is intended to keep inspiration on a roll. I'm on a roll right now, experimenting with new recipes, exploring world cuisine, learning new techniques, and often eating just plain old rice with soy sauce. I now disdain fancy restaurants with tiny, delicate, treasures of food that are overpriced and don't fill me up. I'd rather have chicken wings. (And I must confess that although I strictly eat free-range chicken -- I have a huge moral/ethical problem with factory farming especially chickens -- I have a weakness, a kink in the chain, a breakdown in moral conviction, when it comes to chicken wings.)
Here is a short list of my current inspirations:
"Adventures with Ruth" a TV show with Ruth Reichl, editor of Gourmet magazine
"Serve the People" A Stir-Fried Journey Through China by Jen Lin-Liu
Jose Andres, for his exuberance
Gordon Ramsey, just because
wonton wrappers and pastry dough: empanadas, tarts, pockets
my daughter, Ariel, who loves almost everything, especially pockets.
Children are very inspirational in general. When it comes to cooking, they are a challenge because of their limitations. After a long child-free adulthood during which I ate spicy chilies, blue cheese, raw oysters, big steaks, tons of salad, and lots of Cheetos, I now have to provide for a 3-year-old with slightly different tastes and nutritional requirements. Luckily, my little one likes whole grains, cucumbers, and fruit, three of my must-haves. I am not inclined, however, to give her hot chilies, so I have learned to cook without them and to have chipotles-en-adobo on the side, or chili-garlic sauce, or smoked chili oil, or sliced jalapenos, etc. etc. I have learned to make Mongolian hot pot, which is like fondue with broth, so each eater can choose from a range of ingredients. I have learned to stock up on grown-up foods that she does like, such as hummus. My kid actually loves beans, which is great! Our family relies on one income now, so cooking with beans is a must, and it is great protein for a family trying to avoid the exploitation of meat.
So it is largely because of motherhood that I have decided to plunge into writing a food blog, of all things. I spend much of my time thinking about meals, planning meals, shopping for meals, cooking them, and cleaning up after them. To make this into a creative hobby is really the only way I can cope with the utter mundanity of it all. Other moms out there might understand: our work is so hard that even the pleasurable stuff can become tedious. So what if I want to turn my food life into a creative endeavor? Otherwise, well, it is after all, just food.
