Yes, Me!

If you’re wondering what the title’s referring to, check this post out and all will be clear. Be sure to come back to this one though…  🙂

Who, me? Yes, ME! I don’t usually post photos of myself here, but I figured this was a special occasion. Even as a child I was clearly excitable.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been very good at tooting my own horn. So it’s with a bit of trepidation that I write this post, because it has to do with the fact that I was just honoured with Food Stories Blog monthly award for Excellence in Storytelling. Along with the recognition of my peers, I’ll apparently be receiving a mysterious award in the mail. I’m pretty excited about it – not only because it’s going to be coming from people with obviously awesome taste (har, har, har, couldn’t help it) but also because I love receiving stuff in the mail. Thankfully most of our bills are now electronic so those don’t clutter our mailbox – more room for awesome mail! A bit of an aside while I’m on the topic: I can’t tell you how tickled I was to recently receive a hand-written thank-you note from a wonderfully thoughtful friend of mine. It makes such a difference to know that someone that you just spoke to over the phone took the time to sit down, select a unique vintage greeting card from a stack, think about the words she wanted to write, and carefully commit them to paper without resorting to the “delete” or “send” keys. It made my day.

But back to my award! I have to admit I’ve always wondered what strangers would think if they came across my site. I doubt any blogger starts writing without thinking about what a wider audience might think… To those thinking “oh no, I write entirely for myself” I say PSHAW! If that were true you’d write a journal, not a blog accessible to all, so there. Anyhoo, I started this site years ago now for friends of mine, and it developed into a way for me to keep pushing my culinary tastes and boundaries: “Nope, I can’t post another stir-fry recipe, I need to ensure each post is as dramatically different from the previous post as possible”. I’m sure fellow food bloggers will recognize this driving force. It’s worked wonderfully for me, and I now use my site (and others of course) as my own personal cookbook. No more photocopied, chocolate-smeared pages for me, just a few key words searches, a couple of clicks and I’ve found that favourite recipe that I go back to again and again. The only downside is that my computer has gotten into a few dicey situations involving chocolate (yes, again), flour and various spices. I’ve always though that ASUS and DELL should really invest in some kitchen testing. Maybe America’s Test Kitchen should do a piece on computers best suited for kitchens…

My Darling and I posing with our new found friends, Mr. Ostrich and Ms. Penguin, back when we were eating our way through NY City. He’s indispensable to my creativity and to my life, so I figured it was high time I splashed him around the site a little.

Boy I really can’t seem to stay on topic. The point of this little post is to thank Food Stories Blog, the judges who took the time to peruse my site, all the folks who continually inspire me to be the best Lil’ Vegan I can be, and my Darling, who happily test drives every recipe I try, no matter how nuts it seems at first. So far we’ve only ever had one major fail, owing to an ill-timed sea salt tureen drop, but even that was eaten… Mostly.

Hopefully the above will serve as one of my favourite take-home messages: all in all, cooking isn’t that difficult and shouldn’t be approached with trepidation. Cooking/cheffing is a glorious way to unplug from work, spend time with friends and family, and allows you to express creativity in an ever-evolving manner (think omnivore to vegan to gluten-free vegan… quite the progression). So go out and try that recipe that’s always daunted you. The worst that might happen is you’ll experience something new (or end up phoning for Chinese take-out… Win-win!). The best thing might be that you’ll receive a delightful award for doing what you love. Thanks so much C.J.!

I had to. This has nothing to do with my post other than the fact that Gus, one of my lil’ munchkins,  always keeps me company in the kitchen. He hovers directly under me at all times, poised to scoop up any veggie that plummets from the counter top. This was taken after a particularly yummy batch of tomato sauce; his tummy’s full of carrots.

Can’t have one pug and not the other… Mr. Bo Jangles is charming you on the left, Gus is passed out (his natural state after keeping me company in the kitchen) on the right. Utterly munchable puglets.