Cooking Your Heart Out

Just finished reading Julie/Julia upon the recommendation of a workmate. I was already reading two books (her Fearful Symmetry and Flood) but was so taken in by Julie Powell’s melo-hysterics which sounded vaguely familiar, I had to put the first 2 down and finish the latter.
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Julie’s representation of her “project” was so accessible that you feel like you’re reading your best friend’s cooking diary (if you move in the kind of circles that has people who actually keep cooking diaries). She’s no Nigella Lawson or Barefoot Contessa and definitely no Julia Child, and that’s why I like her. You don’t start feeling inept at the mention of words like aspic or gelee, because she’d be the first to say she doesn’t have a f***** idea what those are. She gets queasy about killing lobsters, have trouble recognizing what kidneys look like, bitches at her husband, snarks at her Mum… your over-all Anti-Domestic Goddess at work. And I love her.
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But in the middle of the foggy haze that is her life, you get glimpses of truth that doesn’t just ring true for her alone. My favorite thoughts include (put in my own words):
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1. Simple doesn’t mean it’s easy.
2. There are 2 kinds of friends: one who inspires you to be good and great, and one who will sit on her haunches with you and help you make mud pies.
3. We cook because we want to share joy.
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She also wrote the words that perfectly describes how one could love cooking as a hobby: you get lost in it, you feel new limbs sprouting from your bones, your soul grows wings, and your heart takes flight. So, okay, those were my words. But I think we’re talking about the same things. Cooking is Art You Can Eat. I say that’s pretty hard to beat. J
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P.S. Anybody out there who knows a good recipe that needs cooking Yogurt? I bought a whole tub yesterday belatedly remembering I have no idea what to use it for, and it expires in 7 days.

Comments

  1. emanski8:42 PM

    hi, liv. if it's plain yoghurt. you can actually use it as an alternative to sour cream to cook beef stroganoff. =)

    ReplyDelete

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