bon appetit!

I enjoy food, good food, because a satisfying meal or snack adds joy to life. Currently I'm reading Julia Child's My Life in France. She describes food in more detail than she does France, although she praises the people and countryside often. Julia fell in love with French cooking, and spent hours perfecting her recipes. I don't have that kind of passion for cooking, but I do want to improve my skills, and I do enjoy preparing something delicious.

With food in mind, I found something called "Menupoems," produced by Alimentum, a food journal. Each year they publish a spread of poems on food to look like a menu. One year they included a portion of Pabo Neruda's The Great Tablecloth. The poem addresses the gnawing hunger that many people live with, and the poet's desire that such people could be fed. "For now I ask no more than the justice of eating."

On a lighter note, on Sunday I thoroughly enjoyed large cream puffs prepared by a family friend who is studying at a local culinary school. Overflowing with custard, they were a delight (I indulged in two).

Tonight I plan to make homemade pasta sauce. Well, almost homemade because I'm using canned crushed tomatoes, not fresh. But I'll saute garlic and scallions, then add tomatoes and simmer with some other seasonings, a splash of red cooking wine, and a few baby carrots to absorb bitterness. My mom made sauce this way, and said it tasted delicious and didn't have to cook long.

I enjoy cooking dishes that are simple but delicious, and don't take more than an hour from start to finish. I'm on the lookout for more such recipes.