Foodoir...

My topics so far has primarily focused on “beyond organic” foods and the ever changing quest for truly eating sustainable. For my final (creative non-fiction) paper I’m still not sure what topic or angle I should write about. I wonder, are there many (or even any) food-based creative non-fiction books floating out there? If so, are they captivating and catch the attention of the reader like other bestsellers? These are some of the general questions I have now at the starting line of this project as I just begin to lightly research and expose myself to the many different writing styles and topics available out there.  

One interesting genre I’d like to explore is the currently-trending world of “foodoir” or food memoir. This style of writing seems to involve a lot of what’s important and interesting to me, personal stories of maturing in life (in general) all in the company of good food. A few foodoir books have already been turned into movies, one such movie, for instance, is “Julie and Julia.” This book turned movie focuses on the author, Julie Powell's “attempt to revitalize her marriage, restore her ambition, and save her soul by cooking all 524 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I, in a period of 365 days” (Amazon.com). This had my brain in gear. What if I wrote a foodoir about my experiences as a pretty decent (if I do say so myself *blush*) at-home chef? This could kill two birds with one stone as I can also implement my ‘independent field trip” into my challenge by spending a few hours shopping and browsing at my local Whole Foods Supermarket or other gourmet supermarket (unfortunately it’s still a little too early in the season for the local farmer’s market to be open). If so, what goals or focus would I be looking at for a weekend of cooking? Here are a few ideas that popped in my head of what I could possibly write about:

1. My challenges of cooking nothing but new and somewhat daring or never-attempted-before dishes?
2.  My quest for restaurant-quality or my favorite restaurant duplicated meals three times a day (think crab cake benedicts, blueberry lemon pancakes and cappuccino for brunch). 
3. Maybe I can set a goal and challenge myself to cook exclusively local organic foods for a weekend?
4. My journey into eating strictly vegetarian. We eat healthy but defiantly are meat eaters in this house and a challenge like this would be very interesting and hopefully eye-opening.

These stories will not only showcase good food (and hopefully pictures) but also the smiles and many dirty dishes it brings with it. Sometimes appreciating life in the simple act of enjoying a beautiful meal together is all we need to pick us up from a stressful day. Good food has for many generations brought people together, and for good reason! Whatever the goal, I’m sure it’s going to be a fun challenge for myself and hopefully a fun read for everyone else. Stay tuned…  
                                            

Eat, drink and live well!

-Missy Sunshine