Game changer

Food is something I really, really, really love. Growing up in a bit of a hippie home (organics only! no sugars in the first five ingredients!) taught me to adore healthy, delicious, homemade foods such as roast chicken and spaghetti, as well as appreciate just how good a salad can be when you take the ingredients beyond a few raw vegetables. Yet the same rules also made this girl lust after processed goodies, and while I have learned to turn away from my one bag of chips a day (not lying) habit that I practiced throughout most of elementary school, I still love a good nachos and beer session. 

Yesterday, I had two very interesting culinary experiences. After a summer mostly spent in the land of croissants and frites rather than Wonderbread and french fries, I was beyond excited when my boyfriend informed me that we would be eating the 'BEST wings you have EVER tried.' When they showed up at our table, hot and sauced to perfection, it was all I could do to stop myself from drooling. But three hours later my body was more or less screaming, 'YOU ARE SUCH AN IDIOT' as I was forced to curl up in the fetal position, only lifting my head to sip on my green tea and praying that I wouldn't have to be put through the misery of a night sitting beside the toilet. Food poisoning? No. Not that. Unfortunately, after four months away from the deep fryer, this belly just wasn't interested in those saucy little devils, and it wasn't about to digest them without a fight. Ladies and gentlemen, I think I may finally know why most Europeans are skinny.....


But yesterday wasn't all hot sauce and burning bellies; I also came upon a cookbook I have been wanting to buy since the beginning of this blog. Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights by Sophie Dahl is quite the read. Not only am I drooling over recipes (most of which are portioned to serve two, which I love), but the pages also play host to a few of her personal stories. Which means in between deciding whether or not I should cook poached eggs on portobello mushrooms with goat's cheese, grilled figs with ricotta and thyme honey, or the shrimp, avocado, grapefruit, watercress and pecan salad, I get to read about how Sophie Dahl's modeling career began and her first lunch with Karl Lagerfeld. Who says fashion and food don't mix?


So while it may seem that I have to turn my back on chicken wings, this cookbook has opened up a whole new world of tastiness for me to try. Although I may miss what comes out of the deep fryer, I certainly don't think I got the short end of the stick.