Been A Long Time

I don't suppose I have a great reason or story to tell you about why I disappeared. There are plenty of things I could say.... I started a new job. I started volunteering with a nonprofit I love. Working on a graduate degree. Never home. Always busy. But I won't even try. You get the truth.

Half of the people who read this are also writers. I just lost the will to write. I tried so many times. Whether it was the blog or anything else I write, I lost the passion for it. I was asked repeatedly what had happened and I always gave the "I'm soooooo busy" bit to people. But I just didn't have the desire to put pen to paper. And without that desire, everything I wrote sounded flat. So I stopped. Prose. Poetry. Even writing about food. I had a dozen posts stored that I eventually went back and deleted rather than publishing them.

Whether you want to call it energy or inspiration or passion or a muse - it's back. And I've been putting pen to paper for a little while now and I'm ready to start putting fingers to keyboard. 

 A few weeks ago I saw an incredible Cultures and Food exhibit at the Museum of Natural History and Science. There was amazing information and history, but the thing that struck me the most was how people come together over food. It's a bonding element in every society all over the world. There were videos of families from different cultures cooking and eating together. Watching them prepare the food reminded me of why I love cooking. It's refreshing and spiritual at times.

I also looked at all the food blogs I follow and saw an overload of sweets, Southern food, tasteless diet food, and things that no one can make. I thought it would be fun and different to do a long series of international dishes. And maybe I'd learn some fun stuff along the way. 

So I made a list of "national dishes" of several countries. Nothing like Ireland or England or even France. I'm talking Senegal. Turkey. Uzbekistan. So many of these recipes are earthy and healthy and robust. And so many of them are served on a platter where everyone just reaches in and shares. We've become so disconnected from one another and our food is a great example of this. I want to focus on togetherness and passion and love for what we do. And I'm inviting people over to share in these experiences every time.

So I start back this week with the national dish of Senegal - Ceebu Jen. It was fun. There was good conversation. Good food. People pulling meat from the bones of a fish in the middle of a communal platter.

Food. Togetherness. Coming soon.