We're on mission--a food mission

May of 2011 was a time of major change for me: all within the span of a month, I graduated from college and entered the ever-widening realm of the unemployed, started working out for the first time in my life, experienced many major personal and emotional changes, and traveled to Asia for the first time. Within 30 days, everything about my life and my day-to-day routine changed. Graduation brought with it not just a diploma (though that was a great comfort), but complete freedom: no classes, no structure, no extra-curriculars, and no idea of what to do next.

The summer was busy: I spent no more than 14 days in one place for the entire span of the summer. I traveled all over the East Coast, from Vermont to Massachusetts to New York and back, then to Asia and Europe. Now, as most of my friends return to school, as my parents go back to their jobs, and as fall settles in on New York City, I find myself free to fill my time as I please.

Now, that may sound like fun, but as every recently-graduated and unemployed 21 year old can tell you, it's scary. It's terrifying. It's anxiety-attack inducing.

That's where food comes in.

I have always loved to cook. Coming from a French-American family, cooking has always occupied an important role in my life. One cannot underestimate the importance of good-quality and good-tasting food not only in nourishing the body, but in bringing people together. During my time in college, I was faced with the fun prospect of cooking for myself in my apartment. I became more comfortable with quotidian cooking, and not just the preparation of meals for dinner parties or large events. Those happened, to be sure, but something that I truly enjoyed was discovered how things went together, and learning how to expand my food horizons.

With this blog, I hope not just to chronicle my cooking, baking, and bartending exploits, but also to share the things I learn about technique, nutrition, healthy eating, food preparation and shopping, and eating out on the town in New York City.

I hope that you enjoy the stories from my kitchen, and that you leave a little hungrier than you were before you arrived!