Showing posts with label romance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label romance. Show all posts

Monday, October 14, 2013

Succulence, Spice, and Spirit(s)

What a crazy few weeks it's been! I have been in a pissy mood the past couple of weeks, and thank god Mom taught me, "if you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say anything at all!"; otherwise this blog would have been exceptionally bitter for a minute. Thankfully, I have hit my stride, things are in an upward-mobile direction, and I am ready to kick some ass!

So, what have I been up to? Well, for starters,  club life and I most decidedly did NOT work out. Between differences in opinion between the upper management and I,  and the truly awful people that actually attended the club, it was far better for me to part ways. I now focus more on freelance film production stuff, and I'm going to start waiting tables again at a local bar to guarantee bills get paid.

I did break things off with J. I weighed the pros and cons, and then I re-read, 'He's Just Not That Into You'. And then it hit me that he did not, in fact, like me as much as I do him. It might seem silly to take a book to heart like that, but it is the only relationship book that has ever told the blunt, unshakeable truth. So I trust it a hell of a lot more than anyone or any other book that insists that relationships are based on analyzation of the other person. So I  the end, sure, I still have feelings for him, but I'm not waiting or wasting the fabulousness that is myself on a pipedream. I'm ready to put my energy and emotions into a relationship that is actually reciprocated.

On a happier note, my garden hasn't died yet! I've even added more to it. It's got kale, lavender, and dill now; and I'm attempting to start some carrot, pumpkin, and baby cucumber seeds before the weather gets really cold. Hopefully they turn out- So far everything else has been doing great, and the tomatoes keep producing more buds! I'm feeling optimistic, despite the naysayers in the hardware store garden department.  :)

Lastly,  I have been lucky enough to taste a plethora of new foods I have never tried before! And happily enough, 2 of 3 places are suuuper local, and suuuuper cheap! Jamaican, Croatian, and Ethiopian- I'm so lucky I live in such a diverse city! The corner store by my house has started selling Jamaican meat patties- tasty savory pastries filled with rich, spicy meats. It's the healthiest, home-made Hot Pocket I've ever had. The dude who makes them is super-chill too, I really want to chat with him more about the patties. In a food truck park about a mile away? Croatian food truck, run by 2 brothers who are using recipes taught to them all their lives. And let me tell you,  the whatever they gave me? Oooooh, man. I need to go back there to get a more detailed explanation of whatever I ate. It was succulent,  savory, and the meat just melted apart in my mouth. Just talking about it gets me drooling!  The Ethiopian place is a bit further away, in the outer perimeter area of the city, but the style of food was awesome. It was also spicy, similar to the Jamaican but a bit more rustic,  and more importantly- I got to eat with my hands! I read up on the etiquette afterwards and apparently I probably offended a lot of people by using both hands (in Ethiopia,  you are only supposed to use the right). I'll have to practice for the future.

I'm excited for what's ahead.  For the few steps back I took, I am sure that what's ahead is going to reap rewards!

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Sober St. Patrick's Day- an Introduction

For the first time in years, I am spending St. Patrick's day sober. Not intentionally, but crap happens. Today was supposed to be a gorgeous day, perfect for going outside and enjoying sunshine with my dogs. Instead, I have been granted clouds and brisk breezes, which has led to accidentally literally making myself ill with boredom. Which led to me starting a blog. Clearly a recipe for success! Well, here we are anyway.
They say to write what you know, so I suppose I should decide what that is.

Food.

I know about food. I'm a cook, and a total food nerd. I have shelves of cook books, chef memoirs, even cook comic books ('Get Jiro', anyone?). I get more excited about restaurants and industry news than I do about pop culture.

I also know a lot about dating. Specifically, long periods of shitty dating before finally meeting someone who meshes with me incredibly well. Extra-specifically, dating a chef. So I guess, by default, this blog will wind up being about my love affairs with food and, well, actual love affairs. Following still?

Now for our cast of characters- aside from myself, there will be at least two other people I can see myself writing about most frequently. The first is the guy I'm currently seeing, a fantastic chef who has been earning quite a bit of notoriety over the past two years (though I've only known him five months). The other is my boss, another excellent chef with a healthy heap of accolades. ...can you tell I like to surround myself with people with taste? For their privacy, I will refer to my guy as J, and my boss as Chef. It will just keep things simpler in the long run.

Aside from boredom, why am I bothering to start a blog? Well, I have been reading chef-related stuff all day, including the blog Desperate Chef Wives (http://www.desperatechefswives.com). Excellent material, all of it, but I was having a harder time relating. See, since I work in the industry, I wanted to find other women who could relate to my experiences- sharing similar hours, goals, ideology, and that sort of thing.

So, this is a perfectly selfish, self-serving blog. I want to find other lady line cooks like myself who happen to be dating "within the ranks", as Anthony Bourdain might say. So, here's to us, chickadees, wherever we may be hiding! And to the industry and fellow cooks we love so much.