A Movie, being a Cook and a Cook Book.

I was reading the blog written by Micheal Ruhlman,who also wrote the curing book I bought Chance for Fathers Day.Mr Ruhlman's newest blog post is partly about the hype around the movie Julie and Julia and partly asks the question Foodie VS Cook and discussed the lack of cooking skills in our modern world. I wanted to pass the entry along for several reasons.The first being I had really wanted to go see said movie but now I am a bit sick of it. The straw the broke the camels back for me regarding the movie is a short tale and here I go,
Chance,Sol and I went to Powells Books to do two things bask in their A/C on a tripled digit evening and second drool over books. Now having grown up in the aisles of Powells there seems to me to be an unspoken thing,Powells is kind of like being at the library and library voices should be used,not total silence but kind of quiet.And here is where the straw was broken.We sat near the Cook Book section (of course) and down the aisle were a group of young college aged kids who were loudly calling out to each other "Hey maybe I could cook my way through this book and make a million by blogging about it" over and over and over.Ok I am done with wanting to see this movie rude kids killed it for me and frankly Julie and Julia has become trendy and I have a stubborn streak that just won't allow me to part take in any trendiness.I am a Gen X-er after all.
Ruhlman's discussion of the lack of cooking skills today and many are of the dump and stir clan rang true with me.I was amazed during our Chicken Butchering Class most did not know
how to roast a chicken a staple in our house dubbed "Chicken Again" ,how to cook the giblets or even make a stock from their bird.I was asked to teach a Bread Baking Class and there were many more cooking questions.I did not realize people don't cook.I have to ask then what do you eat?
Finally I must say Chance and I consider ourselves Cooks.We are passionate about cooking for the pleasure of it and for the pleasure of feeding others.As long as there is something in the cupboard,a sharp knife,a bowl or two and a few pots and a good frying pan we are good to go.No fancy gadgets in our kitchen just the two of us sharing our passion.( Wink wink).
I encourage you to read the blog posting I linked above it gave us both some food for thought and the comments left are insightful.
I have also been reflecting on Hrafinstaad, where we are, where we want to go and what to improve upon. The hay bales were a flop,you can not go against Mother Nature and not plant in the ground.With the tree gone from the front I need to re think what flowers and plants are on the porch and front walkway.The upside to that,I can now plant some flowers that are sun lovers that I have always wanted.Homemade cleaners work great but I am still buying my laundry soap I am stuck on that one.Now that the heat has passed we can get back to outdoor projects like the Cobb/Earth Oven and canning ( later this weeks project) .
As for the kicker for the winter months ahead,I am writing the boys a cook book.I am starting to compile my recipes, think about measurements and asking what the boys would like in their cook book.This book idea came up when the boys were arguing over who would get my cook books.Ah wait a minute,just because some day you will move out dose not mean I will be dead and not needing those books any more,look at Nana! So as a house warming gift they will each get a copy of the Westinghouse cook book I use and a book written by me.Yes, yes I know the boys are far from leaving the nest but I want to do this now so there is time to do it and work it all out.
I added to my sidebar awhile ago a fun little gadget called Lijit.Under the Lijit header of "Recent Readers" it will show where people who find or read my blog live.I have seen some far flung places listed which have given me a bit of a thrill.I am curious how are people finding me who don't stumble across us trough a search.Could you fill me in? What are folks on the other side of the Earth looking for in my blog?How do you do what I am talking about? I'd love to hear back because I am a curious person and would love to learn more about all of you.
No matter where you live or how you live your life have a great day.
Rois