Thank you so much for all the comments and thoughts about the parsnip-based cheesecake. I love that kind of exploration and discussion.
And here I find myself in something of an identity crisis. I'm a raw-food chef playing around with cooked starch as a base for desserts. I'm eating starch at all, at that. I was a total low-glycemic zealot for a while after years of nigh-fruitarianism. As a low-glycemic type, I focused on desserts, which are supposed to be sweet. Now, feeling better every month on lots of starch and looking forward to more fruit soon, I seem to be coming full circle.
I don't eat animal products, but will likely be involved in some way or another in the local food harvesting activities that are such a huge part of summer up here, that are not all plant-based, to put it mildly (tho' we have huge hopes for our berry harvest this year). I'm living in Alaska, despite having attained clarity that I felt best in warm climates with year-round growing seasons, eating from orchard, garden and wilderness. (I'm very happy here nonetheless, although I have pangs of locavore guilt at times).
I spend a fair amount of time blogging and reading blogs, and so much of it's about food, but I'm a poet, not a food writer. Shouldn't I write a blog that's purely poetry-oriented? Or get two blogs, one for each?
All rivers reach the ocean eventually, but rivers in a narrow course, with all the water channeled and focused, reach it faster and more forcefully than braided, spread out streams. And if the water spreads out too much, it stagnates, becomes a swamp and never goes to the sea. Am I like a braided river, making very slow progress toward (oceanic) goals, in danger of stagnating?
Or, can I have my stanza and eat it too? What's wrong with writing about food and poetry? (Come to think of it, several of my poems are all about food and preparing food.) Is it a problem that I don't have a square platform on which to stand and proclaim/defend my position; that I'm not solidly 'raw food,' not passionately vegan, that I write about poetry and other things as well as about food and nutrition stuff?
I mentioned this identity crisis to a writer friend recently and her response to whether my blog should be a 'food blog' or a 'literature blog' was "well, it's your blog."
The important question is, what do I want to share here? Whatever it is, this shapeshifter theme is likely to continue, since I don't think I've ever known myself without it.
I will blog when I can during the trip: we'll be in Tucson for five days and around Phil's family's farm in Oregon for another five, with lots of travel in between, so the 'every other day' schedule may be somewhat disrupted.
I'll also be pondering on that question of what I want to share here--and would love to hear what people want more of. Are foodies put off by the non-food talk? Are literary types put off by all the food talk? Do I need to get a focus? Get two blogs?
After showing pictures of our overwintered chives last time, I have some more impressive ones. We had one bed covered in plastic.
And this rhubarb is just pumpin' it! I'm excited to see how much more green explosion will have happened by the time we get home in less than two weeks. It happens quickly here.
Many thanks and blessings!
The only way I've ever gotten the replies by email is to select a certain box that says to subscribe to the rest of the comments by email. But then you get everyones, so it's not ideal. That's why I like discus. I appreciate your manual replies, but I'm sure it takes time.
ReplyDeleteI think it's natural and healthy to have some identity crises, I have a few, just not really around food as you. I once identified very strongly as a teacher, but now not teaching that identity is of the past, although will remain a part of me. I don't really want the identity of a disabled person, I mean, who does? It defines you by your inabilities rather than abilities. I think it's OK to not put yourself in a box. I find society wants to do this everyone, we don't have to bend to it.
I also blog about more than one topic. I do it for me! I think your blog is very personal and that is the theme that will hold it together.
Enjoy your trip! I hope you get lots of sun.
It's your blog. Feel free to post whatever you want. That's what I do. Sometimes I post about food, but most of the time, I post what going on in my life. This blog is about your life. If poetry and food are your passions. Post about both :-)
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ReplyDeleteShannonmarie--thanks so much! That's the conclusion that I'm coming to also. It's harder to categorize, but more authentic.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post, Ela. I agree with the others, that you should write about what inspires YOU. I love your blog for the intriguing recipes, for your elegant and impeccable writing style, and because I can relate to your lifestyle. You are true to yourself and your evolving path in life. I say keep doing what feels good to you and your readers will continue to enjoy your insightful posts. :)
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the sun on your whirlwind trip!
kt--thanks so much for this. I feel like I'm gradually evolving toward feeling ok with that: assuming that I need to have a label in order to have a coherent readership is assuming too little of readers, really.
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Ela