With the holidays behind us and the overall merriment coming to an end, everyone is left kind of exhuasted, bloated and irritable. January and February are pretty depressing times in New York City; the weather is piss, there are no really good holidays to celebrate, and January seems to be the month of self-reflection. So more often than not, we ponder our own thoughts until it's time to get drunk on St Patricks Day, eat chocolate bunnies on Easter, and throw a BBQ on Memorial Day.
So that's what I've been doing. Pondering. I don't know why but lately people have been asking a lot of questions about my blog and why I do this. And originally, my answer was "I was bored one day and needed something fun to do." That's still true and is the reason I started it…but why do I stick with it now? I had to ponder that for a minute.
I love food. I think that's pretty damn clear. I have been watching that show My Strange Addiction on TLC (sick), and I thought "maybe MY strange addiction is food.." but then I realized that I don't have to work three jobs to support my food addiction, nor do I prefer hanging out with a juicy burger than hanging out with my friends. Well maybe sometimes I do..depends on the burger. But seriously, I guess I have a healthy food addiction. Which led to my next round of thoughts..
I love healthy food and junk food alike. I know this might come as a shock to some of you, but it's true. I love fries, wings, pizza, cupcakes, and anything chocolate. BUT my affinity for junk food has to be controlled or The Skinny Pig would become The Fat Pig pretty easily. The nickname came about when I was younger and therefore had a faster metabolism. I'm getting older (sigh) and I realize I can no longer eat cheese fries for lunch twice a week. I'm not even technically skinny, and I will never be the type of girl who turns down a Magnolia red velvet cupcake because she's "dieting", but maybe now I just won't devour the entire thing. Bummer? Yes in some ways, but this led to my next realization..
One thing I've learned while doing this is sometimes, you just have to be able to "taste." There's nothing worse than going to a "tasting" and filling up on toast points with tapenade and not saving enough room for the lamb meatballs and mini cheesecakes that come out later. That said, my appetite has always been ridiculous, so believe me, this is a work in progress. If you put a plate of truffle mac and cheese in front of me right now, I can't promise it will be there for very long. Fortunately I also love foods that are good for you. I eat spinach every day (like Popeye), I hate soda, and one of my favorite snacks is sliced red pepper and cucumber with Greek yogurt and garlic dip. This is an example of my other reason for blogging..
I love cooking and trying new foods. You will probably be seeing more recipes on here soon, because I've been cooking a lot and (shock) baking too. I don't really like baking because it's so precise, but when you master a complicated recipe, it feels like a triumph (for me anyway). For example, those Nanaimo bars sounded like a HUGE pain in the ass, but I did it and everyone loved them. Hooray. Cooking is therapeutic. When I'm dealing with a hot oven or boiling sugar, believe me the last thing I want is for my mind to start wondering about the next episode of Mad Men or why Snooki is allowed to write books.
And speaking of writing, I love writing about food and keeping people informed of my latest culinary adventures. New York's restaurant scene can be daunting, so I try to help in any way I can.
So…that's just a little bit about me and why I do this. You know, just in case you were pondering.
-SP
