How to Bone a Duck - Working Title & Introduction

Sometimes when I eat alone, sitting at my bar height kitchen table, in my just cheap enough to be comfortable IKEA chair, browsing the Internet while chewing, I feel like I’m a really good writer. I feel like I have something extremely important to say and the whole digital audience is sitting on the edge of their slightly uncomfortable chairs waiting for my next tidbit of cooking wisdom, coffee enlightenment or the funniest status update they’ll read all day.

For example, a post from March 6, 2011, “I have a guilty pleasure of loving Diane Keaton movies. I think she plays some really classy ladies. There's just something about her in Something's Gotta Give, with her house in The Hamptons and how her clothes match her interior decorating. I love it!

In Because I Said So she's a mom and she loves to cook. There's one scene where she's had a particularly stressful day so she makes herself this delicious looking pasta dinner and eats it all alone in her kitchen. This isn't to say I've had a particularly stressful day, quite the opposite, but I am saying there are moments when I make myself pasta and I'm home alone that I feel like I too could be the next great playwright (Maybe I should write plays first?). But now I'm mixing up my movies. The point is there's an extremely satisfying feeling in making elegant pasta all for myself.

On this chilly afternoon the elegant dish was Romano Pasta - a fettuccini noodle sautéed in a marsala, garlic, shallot reduction and topped with grated Romano cheese.”

It’s the confidence that stirs in me when I write about my kitchen adventures that leads me to study the timely topic of home cooking. Everyone eats, but how and why? In a time of eating out every night there are families with children, single dudes and ladies rooming together that take the time to cook at home. What is the draw? Why do they do it? Do they really get anything out of it? All because of my cheeky Internet ego the pleasant world of home cooking will be discovered more fully for you, the reader, to savor.

The reasons range. Home cooking has health benefits. It can be budget sensitive and experimental. It brings community. Trying it out, or at least reading about it can really only be beneficial. Unless, of course, you fall in love with it and end up spending every night after work sweating over the stovetop, dreaming up ways to bone a duck and then blogging about it. Was that a “Julie and Julia” reference? Continue reading at your own risk.

I cook at home for all of these reasons. I’m not the healthiest person alive. I love my sweets, but at least I know what’s going in to my meals. And when it comes to money I’m all over the sales at the grocery store. I can spend $31 and save $38 at the same time. You can’t do that when you eat out. But, why I’m most passionate about cooking at home is because I love having people over. I see food as a huge part of quality time and when it’s in a relaxed environment it’s even better. Another reason to study this topic – to find out if other people feel the same way about home cooking.

And this is where the story goes beyond cheeky.

My friend Kristin said it so well, “ It’s fun because you’re enjoying things God has given us. You’re enjoying that together.”

Dwell on that, as this feast is prepared. The reason for home cooking goes far beyond nourishment, price point or hobby. It is a thanksgiving to God. Food is already one of my favorite things, and when I realized that God also loves food, because he created it, my curiosity exploded. If He created the Platypus, such a funny creature, then what kinds of fruits and vegetables did he place on this Earth for us to be perplexed by? Taste and see!

Cookbooks and Gladware as Archival Material

Cookbooks are extremely helpful, especially when you're like me and can never remember if it was a tablespoon or teaspoon of salt. Big difference. They're an archival material for cooking at home. If you can't remember what a recipe calls for or if you loved the casserole from Thanksgiving they help to recreate that moment, or in this case, the taste.

But another kitchen artifact that really digs deeper in to an archival is Gladware. These are the small, see-through plastic containers that left overs are kept in. Some are taken well care of, emptied quickly and cleaned often, showing the dish was a success. Some can be found in the back corner of your refrigerator, green and stinky. That meal won't be made again.

Each of these items plays an important role in home cooking, the actual task, and in the meaning put behind it. One keeps memories over years, even decades. Others last for the moment, maybe a week. Home cooking spans over many periods of time, and each era has a different way of preserving.

Three Cups of Tea Review

Three Cups of Tea not only sheds light on the need for education in Pakistan, but also on how it’s done. That’s why it’s worth the read. It’s not a book that tells you all the reasons why something needs to be changed. It doesn’t leave you with the excitement to do something but no idea how. It instead shows you the work being done to make the situation better.

What pulls you in is the way the book isn’t a how-to though. It’s sharing inspiration. Greg Mortenson is a humble man with no idea on how to raise money to build a school. He lives in his car and works night shifts at hospitals. He doesn’t know how to use a computer and he believes uninspired celebrities will give him all the funds he needs.

This ethnography isn’t a stagnant, this is how easy it was, success story. The plot thickens so often because real life happens. There’s no gloss over his dirt stained, dusty shalwar. The book shows the real work that goes in to not only building schools in Pakistan but also the roadblocks that get in the way and the relationships created to overcome them.

An Update

This is a letter to my husband updating him on my Third Year Writing Project:

Dear Hubs,

I can't wait to see you at home this afternoon! What should I make for dinner? You probably don't know what you want. That's ok.

Speaking of food though, can I just tell you how I'm feeling about this third year writing project? I'm having a lot of fun. I feel like I have a lot of ideas and I'm ready to put them in to action. I talked to Krater the other day and she inspired me to press forward in finding out why people involve food in hospitality. I also want to talk to Julie. She's such a lovely lady. What chef should I talk to? What about someone from The Copper Kettle? They have home style food.

At the end of the project I also have to do something digitally related. How fun! Since we'll have the ipad I'll be able to use that to video some cooking. Maybe I can do a 2 or 3 minute video of all the people I talked to cooking and them saying why they love to, sort of a promotional kind of thing for the paper.

I also want to incorporate my Simple Feast blog posts, like the one about Mahi Mahi. Because it's my personal experience with food and what happens when I cook at home.

What do you think? Your input means so much to me. I respect your opinions. I think you're so intelligent.

I love you,
Your Wife

Why Kristin Cooks

Kristin Childress has always cooked, but her love for the craft really bloomed once she lived on her own. She focuses on incorporating healthy ingredients into traditionally sugary treats, like brownies. Think sweet potatoes with cinnamon and less flour, sugar, eggs and oil.

But, there’s a further reason behind her love for cooking: hospitality.

“It’s just kind of a part of cultural history. You can go back way in the day and it’s a huge sign of you’re welcome here.”

She notes how relaxed people can get when you tell them to sit down and you offer them some food. The conversation changes instantly.

“It’s fun because you’re enjoying things God has given us. You’re enjoying that together.”

Kristin quickly shows how complex home cooking is. There are health reasons to eat and cook certain types of food. But, the same thing that sustains us is also a mode of conversation and comfort.

An Interview with Kristin

I interviewed my friend Kristin. She loves to incorporate healthier options into her cooking and baking. Home cooking to her is not only an easy way to watch what she eats but also a form of hospitality. Here are some quotes from our interview:

I really like making baked goods because everyone loves them and you can really be creative with them and try different types of recipes.

I also love being hospitable. I love having people over and I think a big part of that is cooking for them.

Just in general, fresh ingredients are always healthier, especially when you’re working with vegetables and fruits. You can choose or substitute healthier things.

It’s just kind of a part of cultural history. You can go back way in the day and it’s a huge sign of you’re welcome here.

Food is how we sustain our bodies. It’s a sign of you’re welcome.

It’s fun because you’re enjoying things God has given us. You’re enjoying that together.