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Waking up Hungry

As many of you know, especially if you are readers of my other blog, I lost my husband last year. This one I didn't just misplace, I lost him for good.

The last entry in this blog is practically to the day when he was diagnosed with cancer. Talk about a day that was a game-changer, if I might lapse into (more) cliche(s) (than usual). It was a kitchen changer, too. This blog was a journal of what I was cooking for us. But Isaac hand an anal/rectal cancer, and later a colonostomy. Everything we fed him became part of the therapy. His food choices and my cooking went from "what are you in the mood for, honey?" to 101 Ways to Turn Ensure® into a Smoothie.

And then he was gone.

My heart went out of cooking, and out of writing about it. I didn't have much more to say than would have fit in a Tweet: "Sandwiches again today. Really like the new brand of spelt bread." "Laloo's® Goat’s Milk Ice Cream is better in strawberry than vanilla." Maybe I should have gone on Twitter then.

Instead, I decided to revive what had been Isaac's and my joint blog, Views from the Cyberhenge. It's more general and magical; I might not have ever talked about food there. I'm on Facebook now, too, and even Twitter, with this little blog sitting forlorn in a dusty corner of the Interwebs.

Last November, I moved back down to North Carolina, where I had lived a for number of years before Isaac and I moved in together. I have friends here, and having been staying with friends while I decide what is my Next Best Move in Live. In a household of three people, I have started cooking again. Nothing fancy, just home cooking.

Last night I made something so simple but so good, I thought it would be a shame if I didn't make a note of the recipe. Then, I thought, if I'm going to type it up anyway (isn't it interesting that we write things down but type things up?) I might as well put it up on the blog. And so I shall; if not today, soon.

So, I have officially revived this blog as an occasional journal of what I'm cooking and what I'm thinking about food and food culture. For more regular updates about where I am in the world, check out Views from the Cyberhenge, Twitter, or Facebook.
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TV and Dinner

I love watching cooking shows. I remember watching Julia Child (my second husband did a drop-dead take-off on her in one of his comedy revues) and even before that people like Antoinette Pope. We're talking black and white TV with a round screen with Antoinette Pope--at least I watched Julia on a black and white rectangle.

A lot of the shows I enjoy now are, as another writer expressed, more about eating than cooking. They're using ingredients, techniques and equipment that are unrealistic for home cooks like me, especially in a two-person household. Still, I watch them, both for the vicarious pleasure and the "take aways" (the TV jargon for tips). What the heck, you never know when I might run across a watermelon radish and need to know how to use it.

However, I discovered one of my favorite food shows on a non-food network. I really enjoy Emeril Green on Planet Green . Maybe it's because he's cooking with real people in home-cooking situations, but I find the show very approachable and very doable. Plus, he's more focused on natural foods and healthier cooking methods than most foodie shows. The take aways are very good, too; I was watching for just a few minutes this afternoon and picked up a couple of good tips on wok cooking.

Now to rummage in the freezer and see what fish might be for dinner.
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