The Art and Craft of Food

Food is intoxicating, isn’t it?

I don’t mean the random stuff we mindlessly scarf down as we rush through life. 

I mean the good stuff. I mean the meal you sit down and enjoy with loved ones. The dish that has been perfectly crafted. The one prepared with simple fresh ingredients by someone who loves to cook, whether professional or not. 

Some of my favorite memories were created by food. Walking into my grandparents house on Christmas morning while she busily rushed around the kitchen simmering, stirring and baking. Sitting in my great grandmother’s kitchen while she crafted the Greek baked goods of her homeland with more mastery than any master baker could reproduce. 

But the memories that I hold most dear are ones with my dad, now deceased. He was truly a gourmet. Had he been so inclined he could have been a world class chef at a fine restaurant. But he always said he’d never want that. For him, cooking was his creative outlet. I loved sitting at the counter in his kitchen, watching him throw together ingredients. A little bit of this, some of that. He somehow knew exactly how to make a dish come together. It’s really there that I learned to cook. No formal classes, just watching my father demonstrate creativity, fearlessness, and a devout love of what he was doing. 

As I got older, his birthday gift to me was a really nice dinner at a really nice restaurant. Those are the intoxicating meals I was talking about. The artisan cheese platter and cake pops for dessert at the now defunct Fromagerie. The lobster bisque soup at McLoone’s Rum Runner. The Cream of Peanut Soup at the King’s Arms Tavern. I not only remember these favorite meals, but the distinct joy I felt during the whole experience.

For many years now I have followed a plant based diet. No meat or fish, no milk, limited eggs and dairy. For many foodies this is unthinkable. For many world class chefs this is tantamount to blasphemy. But really, when you stop relying on meat to “anchor” your meal, a whole new potential for creativity opens up. I learned this first hand from a man who was decidedly not a vegetarian. My father. When I started to ease out of eating meat, my father didn’t skip a beat. He made his famous, from scratch, homemade pizza. Roasted asparagus drizzled with béarnaise sauce, roasted vegetable bisque soup, and of course my favorite Peanut soup straight from the Colonial Williamsburg cookbook, minus the chicken  broth base.

I’ve worked in many a restaurant as a host, server, runner, expediter, and I even hopped back on the line to help when needed. I’ve always secretly wanted to work professionally in the food industry. I even quietly considered the Culinary Institute of America for college. But ultimately I’m on the same page my dad was. I don’t want the crazy hours, wild pace, and to have my culinary creativity curtailed by the boundaries set by my boss. I want it on my own terms. And I want it plant based.

So truly, the purpose of this blog is to be a resource for those eating vegan or vegetarian diets, as well as those simply looking to cut back on meat and dairy consumption. Product reviews, how to eat out, WHERE to eat out, and how to step away from the meat as the centerpiece mentality.

Because, yes. Sometimes a great story does start with a salad.