August, 2010 I think that writing about food is both aspirational and terrifying. Aspirational since not only do I love food myself, but I believe in it. "Believe in food?" you ask. I believe in not only its importance in gathering people together, in creating childhood memories, in become an icon of culture and cultural celebration, but I also believe in its importance in terms of making us strong and healthy.
The terrifying part also has to do with the aspiration and the wish... the fear of failure. And if I succeed in becoming a food writer, in immersing myself in food, surely I'll become corpulent, self-indulgent and hedonistic. I want to make sure I keep balanced in this quest to write about food for a living.
All of this to say, the time has come. This blog won't become about food snobbery (she says determinedly). It will talk about both the indulgent and healthy. It will talk about social/cultural elements of eating as well as the joys of drinking beer on a sunlit patio, it will talk about my own attempt to become healthier through better food choices (rather than dieting) as well as moments of weakness and joyous self-pampering.
I struggle with believing in many things. My inner cynic is loud and is quite a bully. But I believe food. What I know about food:
- I am an omnivore. I will (probably) never cut out entire food groups. No one has yet convinced me that moderation in all things is a bad thing. I will never be completely cheeseless, grainless, meatless or sugarless. Health and environmental problems related to food seem to have to do more with habit rather than individual experiences.
- I love that different cultures celebrate food in different ways and that often food memory represents a coming together, a celebration or a comfort.
- I need to eat healthier. Part of this will be an exploration of how I, as a food lover, can remain so without growing wider and wigglier than I already am. And how, in fact, I can lose some weight despite my foody joys.
- I do believe in ethical eating. I haven't quite figured out how to incorporate this into my life in a meaningful way, but I strive towards a greater conscientiousness than I currently use when buying food for sustainable, ethical sources.
- New and different makes me happy. While I have no desire to repeat the one encounter I have had with tripe, in general, I love trying new things, textures and tastes. Food exploration is fun :)
- Markets have their own special energy that seems to have to do with getting closer to the source of food. Living in a city, it is often as close as we can get to actually pulling that carrot out of the ground. There is an earthiness about the smells and an anticipation of eating that I've never experienced in a grocery store.
I hope you'll come with me.
