why food...why the plate

Food is a necessity. It is luxurious  and it has so many sides or personalities if you will. It comes from all sorts of places in the world. Some dishes are spicy, delicate, pungent, bright, dull, comforting, or fresh. There is what is called poor mans food, then there is the rich mans food. It is a fascinating topic to all. Unless you diet. Dieting is not my thing. I read a book that inspired me so much. The book was French Women Don't Get Fat, by Mireielle Guiliano. It took me to a new place in my life at a time when I needed direction to help me achieve my weight loss goals and cooking goals. My husband worked in the restaurant industry for many years. His pallate is quite finicky and we both enjoy really bold flavors. I needed to find a happy medium that I could be content with to feed him, myself and our two children. I am a stay at home mother, so there is no excuse for me to not make fantastic food. I did not learn much about cooking from my mother. She is a great cook, but I was too busy when I was home to learn. Now her and I share new recipes as a ritual.

So reading this book inspired me at a time that I felt really lost. I was trying to loose my baby weight and wanted so badly to be a fabulous cook. I decided to use my new found inspiration to obsess over
French cuisine. I started cooking any new kind of recipe I could get my hands on. I learned new techniques and found myself buying a Dutch oven, food processor, etc. I set out to not only cook new food but lost my fears of trying new recipes that sounded intimidating. I am very adventurous so I began to be adventurous in my kitchen. There is nothing I would not try. I wanted my dinner table to be exciting every night. Eating out gets really expensive. This was a way to expose my children to all sorts of new food as well. I set the mood by turning on some relaxing music and pouring a glass of wine. Then I just allow myself  to enjoy the stirring, searing, boiling...chopping etc. It is a symphony in my kitchen. I put all my love into whatever I am making, taking my time and it always turns out so yummy.

My husband has taught me so much about cooking. I am thankful for his experience. He still is always teaching me new technique. I feel blessed to know that I won't ever get in a rut with food and that life is too short to have a rotation of the same old dishes. Snore....

The other big tip that I learned from Mireielle is you can enjoy food as long as you cut back other times of the day when you want to splurge. Exercising everyday even if it is a 20 min walk is so important. I love to cycle. I have a beautiful bike path along the creek by my house. I really embraced her philosophy towards food because it is very practical and can be applied without being a gym junkie and resorting to plastic food. I am not that kinda woman. I like to live and as they say, "eat, drink, and be merry," life is too short to punish myself. I love to love, to enjoy life, to play. Especially play....

I wanted to share how I became a foodie because the plate part of my blog is about to set fire...get ready for some dirt and plate journey baby...

http://mireilleguiliano.com/section/sub/14
http://frenchwomendontgetfat.com/content/mireilles-musings-fall-cooking-and-french-women-don%E2%80%99t-get-fat-cookbook

yummy bubbly goodness