Losing One's Direction?

Ava V — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:58:31 +0000

Last night i had a very interesting conversation with a friend from school who reminded me of myself at this time last year. I was very comfortable with the way my life was, and didn't want it to change. I didn't want to leave college and enter the real world. And like my friend, not only did I have no idea what i wanted to do in this new life, but i had no way to figure it out. I knew that i liked to cook, and knew that i loved my family and friends but i still had no answer.

Instead my cousin approached me when she found out she was heading to nebraska for grad school, she asked me if i wanted to join her. I figured "hey, why not?" It's the one time in life where you have no responsibilites and can do whatever you want. But this didn't mean that i gave up on my dreams of cooking, like my friend probably figured it did. So he asked me, what happened to my passion for cooking?

In addition to watching food network, going to farmers markets, and reading food blogs, I wrote my first cookbook over the summer. This is when i realized i never shared the final draft with you. Here's some of the recipes:

Dips

Hummous

Babagnoush

Spinach Dip

Crab Dip

Not Your Average Joe’s Bread Dip

Breads

Banana Bread

Monkey Bread

Crusty Italian Bread

Blueberry-Lemon Loaf

Sides

Brussel Sprout Hash with Caramelized Shallots

Caramelized Butternut Squash

Succotash

Loobee (Lebanese green beans with tomato sauce)

Ginger Rice

Green Bean Casserole

Main Courses

Pecan Crusted Chicken Chicken Cacciatore Rosemary Chicken

Chicken Tenders Company Chicken Honey Chicken

Turkey Meatballs Turkey Burgers Turkey Meatloaf

Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin Mac and Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli

Spicy Baked Macaroni Pasta with Shrimp, Asparagus, and Tomatoes

Desserts

Monster Cookies

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Reeses Mini Cup Cookies

White Chocolate Cherry Chunkies

Coconut Macaroons

Chocolate White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

I'd love to publish it, but this book was many a compliation of recipes i've loved from other cookbooks. So now I'm working on my second one tentatively titled "Restaurant Worthy." They're all dishes that i've had at different eateries, but since i don't have the recipes, i'm writing my own.

So although i couldn't tell my friend what to do with his life, i found a direction for myself. Food is great, and i will always want to share it with anyone who will listen.

300. Female Fortitude—116 through 127

GuyMaligned — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:08:16 +0000

These ‘fortitudinals’ provide theme or summary of previous posts. The numbers match the source.

111. Being feminine makes a woman very unique, which maximizes her value to men.

112. Women that have matured beyond adolescence know intuitively NOT to disclose their sexual history to their man.

113. If she makes it easy for him to know her, she makes it hard for him to keep her. Mystery captivates.

120. In the end, the way women dress and groom themselves shapes the real world for all of us.

121. Knowing his woman’s sexual history lowers her value to him.

122. Except maybe for political correctioneers, men are not into non-judgmentalism about their woman’s sexual history.

123. The feminist spirit makes women ‘stand up inside’ just thinking about a man or men. It’s toxic for a relationship.

124. Women offer sex to find love that does not bond. Men offer love that does not bond to find sex.

125. Conquest is a relationship-changing event for a man.

126. Women can’t rule the rooster, unless they empower him to rule the roost.

127. To men, relationships require no management. But women insist otherwise. At what cost?

[Previous fortitudinals appear in posts 295, 290, 285, 280, 275, 270, 265, 260, 255, 250, 245, 240, 234, 228, 213, 203, 199, 186, 182, and 176.]