Lisa Loves Lunch

I have a confession. When I was a kid I was the pickiest eater on the planet. After having my own children I apologized profusely to my parents for how freaking difficult I used to be. Example: when we went out to breakfast I would order boxed cereal. No eggs, no bacon, no waffle or pancake, not even oatmeal. Boxed. Cereal.

Once I hit my twenties, in a quest to expand my horizons, I forced myself to experiment outside the little food box that confined my life.

The result: I love food. I love to cook. I love to eat. Both food prepared by myself and food from restaurants. I love junk food and haute cuisine. Give me a Lays potato chip with French’s onion dip or a fried waffle potato slice with creme fraiche and caviar. A fried zucchini stick or a succotash of zucchini and corn. A burger from In-N-Out or a grass-fed Filet Mignon roasted medium rare with an accompaniment of bearnaise sauce. I love them all.

I have subscribed to Bon Appetit, Food and Wine, Gourmet. I peruse Vegetarian Times and Cook’s Illustrated. I have so many cookbooks that I have favorites and others I’ve barely even cracked open.

I love experimenting with different colors and spices and textures in pursuit of a particular taste. My current favorite lunch is a vegetarian pita sandwich. Green zucchini cubes and yellow bell pepper sauteed in a bit of olive oil and garlic. A chopped red heirloom tomato. A sprinkle of cheddar cheese. A modest slather of mayo. Stuffed into a whole wheat pita. Yum.

In my world, writing shares a common bond with cooking. The menu changes daily. Textures, moods, characters, quirks, conflicts both internal and external, a soundtrack. Each wonderful individually but when I mix them together the result is never quite what I expected. Sometimes the dish is so-so, that recipe never to be repeated, but sometimes after mixing and tweaking the end result is spectacular.

Some days, food is an artistic endeavor. Other days, it’s just lunch. But I love it anyway. Which come to think of it, is just how I feel about writing. :)

Lisa

ps. great cooking website for the culinarily adventurous = www.epicurious.com

pps. Blogger has decided they don't want my pictures so you are all missing out on the photo of one of my shelves of cookbooks....