When somebody’s offering you food….
Anthony Bourdain captured the essence of food when he stated: “When someone is offering you food, they're telling you a story. They are telling you about themselves; where they come from; who they are; what makes them happy.”
Take a moment here and close your eyes, what does food mean to you? How has it affected your life? What are a few of your favorite memories around food? What gets you excited about the food that you eat? The flavors, colors, textures? That it was grown locally or by your own hands?
The above quote deeply resonates with me. Food was the center of our home. Growing up with a mother who had grown up surrounded by Italian family and neighbors, she was deeply influenced by her heritage and passed on to my sister and I the flavors of her youth.
Fast forward to 2024 ... .I thoroughly enjoy reading cookbooks, the recipes pique interest and offer ideas. There aren’t many recipes that I follow exactly. Specialty food markets are a treasure trove for me. Where some become overwhelmed by the many varieties of a product, an item such as condiments, I enjoy looking, reading the ingredients and thinking about how I could use the product. If a product isn’t plant-based, it does not deter me, I simply look up ingredients or recipes and see how I can create something that will work for us.
As I typed this quote to share with you, I thought about my most recent sharing of food with friends, it was in fact, last night. A few weeks ago, there was a menu offering for a potato pizza at Flatbread Pizza which inspired me. I did not recreate the pizza, but put my own spin on it. My creation: a small potato roasted in olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary (imagine the wonderful scent of rosemary in the kitchen!). Earlier, I had created my plant-based version of ricotta and made a caramelized onion jam.
Envision the end product: roasted rosemary potato topped with plant-based ricotta topped with onion jam and a sprinkle of parsley. Sounds divine doesn’t it? I will happily tell you that it was delicious.
Reflecting on the past 4 ½ years, I'm struck by the transformation in my culinary knowledge, navigating the waters of whole food, plant-based meals. It's been a journey marked by growth, experimentation, and plenty of taste-testing. Through this post, I simply want to express my love for cooking, whether it's delighting guests at catering events, designing menus for intimate gatherings, or simply preparing our weekly meals.
Food is more than sustenance—it's a narrative, a connection, a way to bring others together. Here's to the endless possibilities that await us around the communal table, where food not only nourishes our bodies but also feeds our soul.