New Year, New Resolution, New Approach

Happy new year everyone! "Everyone" will soon refer to a larger group of people, or so I hope: with great trepidation, I've decided to make this blog public. Which also makes this the appropriate opportunity for presenting a more thorough explanation of what this blog is about and what I'm trying to achieve with it.

A few summers ago, I attended the wedding of a childhood friend. We weren't related but he and his family were so integral to our family functions that he was like a cousin. Although adulthood sent us on separate paths, the wedding was a milestone that I could not miss, and it was an honor to be invited. It was a glorious, joyful day full of youthful promise and dreams of a bright future for the newlyweds.

Two weeks later he was dead, taken from us by a negligent driver who had fallen asleep at the wheel on the wrong side of the road.

My own sorrow was eclipsed by the heart-breaking grief that shattered his young bride -- widowed all too soon -- and his parents. I wanted to help, even as I knew perfectly well that nothing I could do or say would assuage their pain. Paralyzed with helplessness, I waffled for a while between one stupid idea and another.

So I just started cooking. I was cooking for people who wouldn't want to eat (never mind cook), but who should. I was cooking as a gesture of concern, empathy and affection. I wanted to bring them something comforting and accessible that would sustain them through this ordeal.

This is how the idea of self-publishing a cookbook was born. The intent is to build a volume of recipes that nourishes the heart as well as the stomach. I'm trying to emphasize good nutrition that elevates mood (instead of crashing it through junk, seductive as it is) while promoting overall health. I'm also taking cues from various cultural traditions that revolve around food during mourning: food may be offered for the grief-stricken at a wake, or prepared in a ritualistic and symbolic manner to memorialize the loss.

The notion of self-publishing came from one of my favorite foodie blogs, 101 Cookbooks. The author, Heidi Swanson, wrote a couple of posts about making one's own cookbook and that got me inspired.

I have no culinary cred, and don't plan on having a career in food. I don't pretend for a second that I'm a chef that anybody would want to emulate. But I do believe in this project for two reasons: (1) I want to keep the memory of my friend alive with this book, which will be dedicated to his family (they don't know about any of this yet), and (2) I plan to donate as much of the proceeds as I can afford to hunger relief organizations which serve up a far more important concept of "comfort food" every day.

This blog is a day-to-day journal of my culinary experiences and experiments. It's also a testing ground for my articles and recipes for the book. The photographs posted here are my own, but eventually I will recruit my co-contributor, Lynn -- an accomplished photographer and talented chef -- for her expertise. My current target for publication is end of 2009. Perhaps with an audience, I'll be rescued from my tendency to procrastinate.

Last but not least, I want to hear from you, about your comforting memories of food. Tell me about the dishes that mended your wounds or have healed others. It's a gift that's worth sharing.