Food & Me: How It Started...

To me, food is the at the core of all of my social bonding - it is how I best communicate with those I love (everything I'm feeling comes through in my cooking) - it is how I remember those I've lost (channeling recipes passed down through generations) - and it is how I reach out to new people (sharing anything scrumptious is a sure fire way to break the ice).

I started food blogging a few years back, at the urging of my mother, as a way to fill the social void left in my life after I graduated from college. I started by writing down the recipes I had grown up with and posting them to my personal website. Then, slowly, I added other snippets from my culinary life, including menu plans, tips and tricks, restaurant reviews and just about anything food-related that I could think of.

As I wrote, I began to notice how these recipes (and the adaptations continuously made to them) were a reflection of my life (both in respect to the memories inherently tied to them, and in how I chose to present them - and their stories - to others). These recipes had somehow become my life story.

When I started Delicious Intentions, in its current format, I wanted to chronicle the evolving story of my life by documenting those recipes that get us (my new husband and I) from one day to the next. This project has kept me trying new foods, rather than falling back on familiar favorites and so (in its way) has helped to keep our story moving forward.

What you will find here is a collection of soul-stirring recipes that emphasize simple techniques and bold flavors - celebrating the ingredients and soothing the soul. Many of the foods shown are from old family recipes, and others are those that I have been perfecting for years (building off scraps from old cookbooks and magazines, and so forth). Still others, and probably the most frequently posted, are made up on a whim, inspired by some desire or craving for a particular (or theoretical) flavor or dish.

If a recipe comes from an outside source I will cite (and link where possible) to the original recipe or inspiration.

As a twenty-something newlywed, I am eager and hopeful for the journey ahead. I yearn for the day that we will move out of our postage stamp sized apartment, with it even smaller kitchen (whimper), out-dated appliances (pout) and no windows (sigh), into well...anything else...

I am crossing my fingers to be starting the new year in a new apartment and a new city.

I dream of a beautifully spacious and rustic style cottage kitchen with backyard herb and vegetable gardens. I dream of publishing a cookbook - maybe Cooking for Two: A Guide to Couples Cooking (focusing on 'compromise' and... hiding vegetables in his favorite dishes). I imagine dinner parties with friends, and good catered events. Yes, I dream.

In the mean time, it is all about focusing on thriving (not merely surviving) as a young newlywed couple (with a tight budget) and big dreams!