What can I say by way of introduction? I am a lover of food. You might say, “who isn’t?” Yet there are those who merely, in their busy-ness, use food as nothing more than fuel, necessary sustenance to be acquired where ever, and usually in a hurry. I feel so sad for those types of folks. I am also a lover of knowledge…which is what Philosophy means, after all. I like to learn, to seek, and research anything which piques my interest. And food piques my interest. I also love people who are very into food… “foodies”… guess you could say beyond being a foodie myself I am a foodiephile.
I have no “formal” training as a chef, though I have trained, and researched, and practiced diligently. I have met the most wonderful teachers, usually sweet experienced women who had cooked for their families for many years, and are full of tips, short cuts, and recipes. And I sought out teachers, videos, books… and cooked…and cooked…and cooked some more… and experimented a lot! For over 30 years at least I have non-stop lived my life cooking for family or friends or just to learn new techniques.. I do feel I am an accomplished enough chef, and my knowledge of food and food preparation, gardening, growing, harvesting, and more, I am confident in describing as extensive. I come from gardening people. And I knew about the two year cycle of pecan trees and why cabbage and kale are better grown in the autumn, before I knew anything about cooking. We, as children, shelled many nuts in the autumn for holiday foods. We peeled peaches for canning in the late summer. We made pumpkin pies (with help) and roasted the seeds from our jack-o-lanterns. We made “snow” ice cream, when a big snow kept us home from school. And we helped with all manner of family cooking projects
I also experienced as a child helping clean and feather chickens and ducks, clean fish, (I have a great one step technique there!) butcher hogs, make and smoke sausage Plus much more was expected of us as part of our yearly cycle of life while growing up. Needless to say I’m not squeamish. And food was part of everything, and every time. And I feel dearly blessed to have been raised in such an environment.
Now as to philosophy, I AM formally educated there. Starting out as an art student in drawing and painting I ended up after a few “major” changes with philosophy, with an emphasis on world religion, symbolism and mythology. Though I will say that with anything, and all these things, I’ve always educated myself well beyond, before and after any formal education. And I will never stop seeking to learn more. We all, I think, can have a tendency to become complacent in what we know or think we know, and feel our cup is filled. And pardon a well worn analogy but: if you (or I) see your cup as full, then there is no room for some new knowledge to be poured in to that head of yours. So I also feel blessed to have an endless restlessness to find out ever more
My love for art makes me a visual person, with eyes for beauty, and I relish color. My love for philosophy comes because of my spirituality, my restless mind, and the connection I feel with the land, nature, and the seasons,… at least in my experience, of the northern half of our dear little wonderfully tilted planet Earth. My love for food somehow seems intertwined in it all. The act of eating our meals each day, whether alone or sharing with others, the acts of cooking and preparing with love, of setting a pleasant table, and artistically presenting our meals, with all that is aesthetically pleasing, the wonderful smell of cantaloupe in the warm of summer days, or bacon and coffee early on a cold morning, or a bite of succulent juicy turkey and gravy, while you look across the table at loved ones, or a rich red table cloth under candles for a holiday dinner with a friend. All this becomes sacramental to me.
And yet, while this all sounds solemn and serious, I am French after all. And if you do not include the wine and song with the food, and the dance, the whimsy, just the Joie de Vivre, well, mon cher, you are just missing the boat. So here I am, wanting to share in writing all I’ve gleaned from a rich life of cooking, giving, receiving, growing, and learning. This is mostly about food, but some wisdom, history, and humor are thrown in. And all this is framed within the context of what I’ve told you above, and given with love. And to that end for now I bid you adieu. Blessings mes amis.
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