Our Recipe Story

 

Yes, I’m still reading, and I’ll have a bookshelf update for you soon. But as a bit of a spoiler, I’ll tell you that the book I’m reading (and loving!) right now is a food memoir. The author tells her life story through the lens of the foods that were meaningful to her in different seasons of life. And then she shares the recipes, so that’s a bonus!

            Perhaps that has spurred this line of thought in my head. Perhaps it’s also the conversation I had recently with a friend about how I feel like I’m a bit of a recipe nomad right now. Ryan and I are always experimenting with new recipes, trying to figure out how to enjoy healthy food that also tastes good.

            All these food-related thoughts swirling in my head make me pretty hungry, but they also make me think about our recipe story.

            Who are we in relation to the food we eat? What are the recipes we’re known for among our friends? What is our balance of fun food vs. responsible food? And do those two ever cross into a single dish?

            It’s a conundrum, for sure, but It’s one that has pushed me to think over the decade we just completed. What are the food experiences we have loved the most? What are the dishes that feel like home? What can I replicate in my kitchen to evoke a memory of a restaurant far away? How can I take something we love and make it healthier?

            From our very first meal as husband and wife (breakfast quesadillas in Siesta Key) to the dessert we default to when we need something fast (candy shop pizza) to our favorite comfort food (macaroni and cheese)…what would our recipe story consist of?

            It’s a fun riddle for me to solve. It’s a fun project to place before myself. We’ve lived a whole decade together. We’ve developed a fond affection for certain foods and restaurants. We’ve made traditions and memories that center around food. It’s time to collect those ideas and recipes into one spot and see what it would look like organized in one place.

            Maybe I need to find recipes to tweak. Maybe I need to ask friends if they share their own recipes. Maybe I need to find new things that we don’t even know we love!

            We all have this, you know. We all have a recipe story of dishes that have shaped us as we’ve grown and ones we lean on now for reasons that go far past the food on the plate.

            What’s yours?