Fresh Cracked Pepper

I am a 20-something woman from Winnipeg (though currently living in Central New York) whose love of food has evolved significantly over time. Someone even called me the human garburator at summer camp. (For all of you non-Canadians, that’s a fancy word for waste disposal unit.) Shameful.

It began as it does for us all, in the simple gestures of discovering the new sensation of taste. I was lucky enough to grow up with the best personal chef I could ever ask for, descended from a long line of matriarchal masters of the farm, kitchen and table. Through their legacy, I was exposed to pierogie making lessons that extended into the wee hours of the night, cashew cinnamon buns, and of course, weinascht stollen:

Through my employment in the food services industry, my childhood exposure to good food grew ever more inspired and refined. Being a server taught me words like reduction and roux, and food aesthetics. Bearing witness to people’s enjoyment of food is something that has stuck with me. I have also been fortunate enough to travel, live, and eat in various places, including my very ethnically diverse hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba. It wasn’t until I discovered that I could have Indian food there that was just as good as in India that I became truly grateful. Eventually my interest in good food became a more consuming passion.

I am keenly interested in food as art and as fuel (nutrition is a bit of an obsession for me), as culture and as service, and as pleasure and science. Food is one thing we all share, regardless of the details. This common need makes us vulnerable to one another, and that is a beautiful thing. Food is vehicle for intimacy, joy, and a better world.

Since moving to Syracuse with my husband I’ve found myself in an increasingly good position to experiment and create. (Insert props to the US government for lack of employment.) I started this record to help me keep better track of our favorite edible things, and to share them with all of my dearest epicureans.

In addition to reading food magazines in bed, some more of my not-so-guilty pleasures include travel, trying to run a sub-9 minute mile, perfecting my swimming form, biking places other people drive, yoga, trying to knit stuff, camping and cooking out of a backpack, making large batches of granola, loving my invisible cat, and fantasizing about books I haven’t read yet. I also like music, art, and theology. Only one other interest gets its own blog however, and that’s writing.

When it comes to me and food, I have one last thing to share. It’s best said in the words of an Arab proverb a friend did in calligraphy for me. We have it up on our fridge and it says

enough is a feast.

-Jen