A return to food blogging

I have officially returned home, safe and sound from Costa Rica. I think I have finally gotten adjusted to life in the U.S. again after 18 days of furious baking (bagels, granola, cinnamon rolls, red velvet cake, black bean brownies…), serious napping, a little bit of cleaning, a lot of bumming out at home, not enough catching up with friends and family, and hard-core food magazine reading and Food Network viewing (sometimes at the same time). Things that seemed strange at first: throwing my toilet paper in the toilet (it goes in the trash can in Costa Rica), hot showers (strange in a good way, trust me), not having rice and beans served at every meal, not being surrounded by the beautiful scenery of Costa Rica, and being apart from my SFS family.

But as far as food goes, I am definitely glad to be back. Now I have control of what I eat and can cook my own food. Plus, food in America is generally better; in Costa Rica, all desserts are insanely sweet (and this is coming from someone who has built up a very high tolerance for sweets) and most savory things are either fried or involve gallo pinto (rice and beans). I am obviously so fortunate to have studied abroad in Costa Rica, but after a while the already bland cuisine gets mundane.

So, here is my first post back to just food blogging from the U.S. I hope you will keep reading, or will start if you haven’t stayed up to date on my travels.

I think to kick off the summer I am going to do a series of superlative posts, including my favorite food-related quotes, books, and more.  On to post #1….

Quotes

As a cook, tastes and smells are my memories, and I'm in search of some new ones. So I'm leaving New York and hoping to have a few epiphanies around the world. I'm looking for extremes of emotion and experience. I'll try anything. I'll risk everything. I have nothing to lose." –Anthony Bourdain

 

“This is the product that everyone in the world eats, that is so difficult to give up. It’s so deeply embedded in our psyches that bread is used as a symbol for life.”
-Peter Reinhardt

“The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight...

[Breadmaking is] one of those almost hypnotic businesses, like a dance from some ancient ceremony. It leaves you filled with one of the world's sweetest smells... there is no chiropractic treatment, no Yoga exercise, no hour of meditation in a music-throbbing chapel. that will leave you emptier of bad thoughts than this homely ceremony of making bread.”
-MFK Fisher

 

"Your fate is like a new jar of peanut butter. It may be sealed, but you can choose whether it is smooth or crunchy."
-Jarod Kintz

 

I am still collecting more food quotes, especially as I read more food books and blogs. Do you have any favorite quotes about food?

Next I will compile a list of my favorite food books.