In Honour of a Legend: Julia Child

My take on Bœuf Bourguignon

As I look forward to the day I start my official academic training in the field of food studies (which hopefully will be sooner rather than later), or perhaps when I think ahead to how I would fill out an application to a cooking competition, I have to step back and think of the many forces (cultural and people alike) that have influenced my own desire to delve into food beyond consumption. In retrospect, one clear influence for me has been Julia Child, an American who brought French cuisine and technique into the lives of so many across the pond. She made cooking accessible and--especially as I re-watch the clips from her television shows--fun. Indeed, inquiry should reign in the kitchen whereas "fear" has no place there; among her many memorable quotations, I think this one seems particularly telling: "This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook- try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!" Today, Julia would have been 100 years old, and fom local chefs of her hometown of Pasadena to television sets across the nation to even a rather catchy tune on the radio waves, it remains clear that she continues to inspire and influence the masses. (And of course, who could forget Julie & Julia?) In honour of this legend, I chose to cook up my own version of bœuf bourguignon, one of the many dishes for which she is particularly known.

The Planned Itinerary: Summer Hiatus 2012

For practically a week, I've been in Vermont undergoing LTW (Leaders' Workshop Training) in preparation for the summer journey ahead, and by the end of today, I'll be boarding the plane with nine wonderful students. Our program, "The City of Lights: Photography in Paris" is pretty self-explanatory (otherwise, click on the previous link) and will take us to the northwest region of Brittany for our homestay period. Between now and then, however, I just wanted to note before heading to JFK that I'll be "blogging" old-school for the summer (read: journaling) and will repost my entries chronologically shortly after my arrival. Until then, I leave you with my relatively few photos (ironic, no?) from the past week. À bientôt !

Pre-Departure Post: May the Posts Continue... Eventually

Well, I can’t believe my bags are nearly packed (finally); I’ll soon be on my way northeastward for leadership training in Vermont before heading to Paris with nine high school students for our photography adventure. But before I board the plane, I did want to catch up the blogging world with the latest happenings in my summer transition out of Ohio.

Caught in a Logistical Transition: Updates from Granville

Good evening, dear Reader! It's certainly felt like it's been a long time (because it has) since I last blogged about anything and even still I'm playing catch up with blog posts that have been unwritten for nearly a year. In the last week and a half or so, the cheftestants of "Around the World in 80 Plates" travelled from spice-filled Morocco to the villas of Tuscany; the summer seasons of "Hell's Kitchen" and "MasterChef" began; and the slew of additional programming (including family favourite "Rizzoli & Isles") has made it quite evident that summer is officially upon us. Interestingly, the first day of summer is actually June 20th this year, which also happens to mark the first day of my journey en route back to Paris.

First Post of June, and I Haven't Cooked Anything Yet: The Savoury (and/or Sweet) Taste of Success

from the post, "A Healthy Start to the Memorial Day Weekend" (26 May 2012)

Not that I'm nowhere near close to be known as a vegetarian (and the own notion of my food identity confirms this sentiment), but there's something about the phrase "Don't put all your eggs in one basket" that I prefer over the phrase "Don't count your chickens before they hatch."

Memorial Day Weekend Cooking Continues (and in under 30 Minutes)

Check out the Bandersnatch the next time you're on campus during the academic year and get your own pizza bagel!

For me, one of the quintessential college dishes is the pizza bagel, and it just so happens to be a specialty at The Bandersnatch, a late night, coffee shop open mic night-esque spot on campus open from 9pm-2am Monday-Sunday. Building off of yesterday's post, I felt the need to continue to cook up the veggie burgers and use up my homemade hamburger buns before they sat around too long and needed to be thrown away. Luckily I was able to save them all, and use up quite a bit of the lettuce I also bought at the farmers market, this weekend, preparing my own version of pizza bread and spicy lettuce wraps.

A Healthy Start to the Memorial Day Weekend

Did you know May is National Burger Month? With Memorial Day just around the corner, I imagine that whether or not such foodie devotion is exhibited as much as the link above, grills and pans will be cooking up a storm this weekend if they haven't already started. And while I am a self-proclaimed meat-atarian, I couldn't seem to pass up the prospect of an organic, local, and vegan veggie burger. Indeed, another gastronomic reason to celebrate is the start of the farmers market season here in Granville (which runs from May-October, with today marking the season's second week), and I definitely purchased some great finds earlier this morning to apply in the kitchen this afternoon.