Project Food Blog 2010: Ready, Set, Blog!

Food, and cooking, are sources of great joy in my life. In the last few years, I have grown to appreciate the culinary world in a way I never thought I would. In addition to amassing a collection of beautiful cookbooks and allowing stacks of cooking magazines to pile up, I have spent huge chunks of time devoted to watching television shows focused on great chefs and aspiring ones. I have read dozens of books about attending culinary school, about what it takes to run great American and international restaurants, and about how one finds him- or herself writing restaurant reviews for The New York Times. I have hosted a cooking show, in college, called Everyday Gourmet. I have read websites and blogs and the Food section of major newspapers for years. Oh, and now I have my own little food blog.

Charm & Salt has been an incredible outlet for me to share and show my love of food and cooking to my friends, to my family, and to complete strangers.  I have also come to realize that working and blogging in my kitchen, and in any kitchen, has taught me lifelong lessons that I never anticipated including patience, how to ask for help, improvisation, how to fix a disaster, breathing, reading directions in their entirety, and not to apologize (as frequently) when things don't go exactly according to plan.

As a food blogger, I am still learning a great deal about photography, web design, and most importantly, cooking. Perhaps that is what is most fulfilling, and what ultimately defines me as a food blogger--my interest in a never-ending culinary education. There is always a new skill to learn, a new technique to master, an ingredient to use in an innovative way, etc. Seasons change, trends change, and recipes, flavors, and taste go in cycles. I relish the change, and the opportunity to learn and grow.

As summer comes to a close, I am so looking forward to pureeing pumpkins and squash, roasting chickens with rosemary and sage, baking with apples (like the recipe pictured here), and planning a menu for Thanksgiving. I am excited about the new volumes of magazines that will soon litter my apartment. I am also anticipating the slew of predictions about the new trends in food for 2011. I will be here, in my cozy apartment kitchen, or in my parents' well-equipped kitchen, or in Jack's ill-equipped kitchen peeling, chopping, sauteeing, baking, seasoning, tasting, blogging, and learning.

I will be doing it always with a pinch of charm, and a dash of salt.