Stories & Soliloquies

Stories & Soliloquies
  • About my Soliloquies
  • Metaphysics, Myth, & Magic
  • My Poetry & Fiction
  • Philosopher Fridays
  • The Philosopher’s Lexicon
  • Tag: food

    • The Beauty of Cook Books

      Posted at 11:45 am by Michelle Joelle, on August 25, 2014

      Since I’m still in the writing hole I mentioned last week (here and here) where I’m quite taken up with research outside of my area (I’m writing a paper about gender identity politics in ecofeminism, and while I have a full draft now, I am struggling to make it cogent, and there are about 1000 things I want to mention but haven’t worked in), I thought I’d share with you something a little more fun, a little less wordy, to give you a glimpse of my state of mind (there’s a bit in my paper where I talk about how foodie culture takes up a daily necessity and appropriates it a hobby, so I thought it fit).

      I love cookbooks. I love to look at them, read them, and even once in a while use them as they’re intended to be used (by following the recipes). I just think they’re beautiful, and even if I don’t use them properly, I always learn a lot about food prep and flavor pairings, and I get inspired by the photos and descriptions. I’m a firm believer in the aesthetic power of books to rouse the imagination and the intellect.

      And this is just about the prettiest cook book I’ve ever seen. The recipes are so, so accessible and the ones I’ve tried are fanatic. I found my copy at Paper Source while I was supposed to be shopping for gifts (I get distracted), but you can also find it here. There’s a gorgeous website too.

      IMG_3725

      IMG_3730

      IMG_3742

      IMG_3748

      IMG_3753

      And if you like this sort of thing, you’ll also enjoy the website They Draw and The Cook. I haven’t gotten their cookbook yet, but it’s definitely going to go on my Christmas list when the time comes. Because you really can’t have too many gorgeous books laying around, can you?

      Posted in The Waste Book | 1 Comment | Tagged books, cook books, food, photography
    • Thought for Food, not Food for Thought

      Posted at 1:00 pm by Michelle Joelle, on January 8, 2014

      I love this time of year. It’s full of lists of what has happened in 2013, and predictions of what’s to come in 2014. I love lists, so I thought I’d start out 2014 with one I found entertaining.

      Instead of sharing some food for thought, I’d like to share some fun thoughts on food – particularly, what Scolgin over at Skinny Girls and Mayonnaise thinks are going to be the top food trends for 2014. I love to eat,  but I’m not so into trendy food any more than I’m ever into trendy literary techniques (which is to say, not at all), and there’s typically a good reason.

      It’s not that I’m against the truly avant garde – Kafka, Vonnegut, Picasso, Borges, convection bake ovens, food trucks, etc – but any time people start chasing a method of delivery rather than just trying to find the best way to tell a story or make good food, you end up with a lot of nonsense. For every Duschamp, you have at least a hundred manila envelopes full of toenail clippings (from a David Sedaris essay about his time as an art student), or a sweater left on a platform for viewers to try on and be the art (seen at the Tate Modern, circa 2004). I’m all for finding innovative ways to make things better or get an idea across if it makes sense. But when people just start trying to be trendy in art, literature, music, and even food, what you get is, well – check out Scolgin’s list.

      Soup Kitchens
      Trend seekers tired of moving like sheep from one flash-in-the-pan eatery in this week’s up-and-coming neighborhood to the next will be looking for something more real, something lasting. And they will discover it in the soup kitchens of downtowns and skid rows across the country. As they find space at communal tables between the destitute and unwashed and settle in with their meal, they’ll be Yelping recommendations and singing the praises of this authentic food movement. (And feeling super-good about themselves for eating with the “people”.)

      These predictions may just be an exaggeration for a giggle, but it’s not all that far fetched. I’ve heard of edible urban forests, and have actually had friends attempt to invite me to dinner and breakfast parties where I would be expected to pay for my meal as though it were a restaurant (as opposed to the usual “bring something to share!”). And I wouldn’t be surprised to see the other predictions come true as well. Yoko Ono had an installation at the Tate which was just a TV with static playing on it.

      Another example can be found over at the blog Critique Collective, where Paul Weiner points out 4 Problems with Contemporary Art on Display at Art Basel Miami. Says the author:

      Take, for instance, Meg Webster’s installation, “Food Stamp Table.” Tactful titles are clearly a thing of the past. This artist displays an egg, ramen noodles, broccoli, and a can of Campbell’s soup as a $4.60 meal bought with food stamps. The price: $12,000.

      This sounds so much like the soup kitchen item listed in Scolgin’s article that I was hoping it was also a joke. But it appears not to be. If this is satire and I’m just missing it, please let me know.

      Bring on the charred halibut, though. I’d eat that.

      Posted in The Waste Book | 2 Comments | Tagged food, lists, new years
    Newer posts →
    • Looking for Something?

    • Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

      Join 423 other followers

    • Follow on Bloglovin
    • Popular Posts & Pages

      • The Writers Roast
      • About my Soliloquies
      • A Bit of Winter Hygge
      • Of Physical Laws and Fictional Characters
      • Why the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is a Good Thing
      • The Philosopher's Lexicon: Apophatic Theology
      • For Ever, and Ever, and Ever
      • The Blacksmith's Apprentice: a Poem
      • 30 Days of Painting, Day 1: Floral Vine and Lace Doodles
      • 30 Days of Painting, Day 28: Sunset Colors
    • Tags

      academia acrylic acrylics aquinas arendt art Augustine awards beach books C.S. Lewis christmas definitions dictionary editing ephemerality epistemology favorite words feynman Fiction film food god harry potter history husserl hygge illustration kindle language learning lexicon libraries links list literary time consciousness literature logic longreads magic medieval Metaphysics music myth my work NaNoWriMo nature painting pensieve philosopher fridays philosophy photography Plato poetry reading reason reblog religion Rousseau science snow spring stories storytelling syllabus temporality theology time tolkien trees vikings vocabulary water colors words writing
    • The Archives

    • top blog sites
      top blog sites

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy