The Big Why?

So I’m a huge fan of Tieghan Gerard, author of Half Baked Harvest cookbooks and blog, she’s amazing!  I remember buying her first cookbook and knowing I would begin to dive into all the different sections.  The number one thing I love about her cookbooks is that each recipe has a beautiful photo of the finished dish.  That alone is a big selling point to me on any cookbook I buy.  It’s also why I don’t use old church cookbooks, if Fanny Mae’s Homestyle Fried Chicken with giblet gravy doesn’t have a decent photo or no photo, I’m out!  I’m a very visual person (as noted in Blog #1-Beauty is on my favorites list) and most people do eat with their eyes first.  If it looks good, it’s likely going to get a try from me.  Now, I have seen the South Korean dish featuring raw, moving octopus tentacles that is called Sannakji (산낙지). It consists of a small octopus (nakji) that is chopped into pieces and served immediately, it is often seasoned with sesame oil and seeds, but the tentacles to continue to wriggle on the plate due to active nerves. That delicacy will never, and I mean never cross my lips, tentacles and all!!!

Back to Ms. Gerard, she doesn’t know me, but we have a few key things in common, she likes to create, I like create.  She came from a big family, I have a big family.  She has a barn in the country, I have a barn in the country.  Can you see the similarities already?  She loves to cook and share her gifting with other people, she’s a teacher at heart.  She’s authentic and in the world of celebrities that is hard to find.  She seemed to simply just  appear on the food lovers scene and because of her raw and obvious talents of creating, writing, photography and genuine warmth, she was embraced by her fans, one of which I am.

I bring her up because she’s making that lost art of homemaking popular again.  Like I said, I don’t know her, we have never chatted on the phone but the warmth inside her series of excellent cookbooks gives me hope that a new generation of families will find joy in building up their own homes with big families, cooking, baking, and family meals eaten together around the table.  Yes, that is the whole point of our aroundthetable.LIFE  social media presence. There is life to be shared with those we live with and love deeply.  Gathering around beautiful meals and tables is a time honored tradition some of us have gotten too far away from and this is my invitation to draw you back to a place of being valued, nurtured and filled.  There’s an empty seat just waiting for you, come on in and stay awhile.

Warmly,

Julie