Inspiration

I miss regular blogging. It's the obvious sacrifice, now that I'm spending my days running back and forth between my email and a baby, but in the few minutes I have as downtime every day, I do miss it.

Especially right now. I'm reading (slowly) the Best Food Writing of 2006 and with every page, I'm reminded of how much I love food and, even more intensely, how much I love reading and writing about food. Blogging about food completely changes the way I think about eating and cooking and the way food fits into my life. The act of observing my food habits changes them. And I love it.

But now that I'm too busy to write regularly, I'm not nearly as observant as I used to be, and I'm definitely not better off for that. Last weekend, I had an amazing dinner at Mie N Yu in Georgetown (miso-crusted red snapper with wasabi mashed potatoes). One of the girls at dinner said to me, "You HAVE to write about this place" (it really was an experience - from the tented tables to the belly dancer...to the $18 glass of house chardonnay). Just hearing those words snapped me to attention - all of a sudden I looked at the room, the food, the conversation in a new light. I woke up out of my baby-and-work coma and remembered that I love writing about food.

Since last summer, I've probably had 10 really interesting meals out that deserved to be written about. There was the over the top, expensive-but-so-worth-it Restaurant Week dinner with Amy and CJ at the Black Olive during the hottest week in July. The dinner at bluecoast at the beach with Cooper's extended family that was delicious, but maybe not worth the 2-hour wait. A completely perfect first post-Dixon babyless meal out at Petit Louis a few weeks ago. A fun but exhausting lunch at Jalapenos with my family (and Dixon) the day after Thanksgiving. And a lot more.

On top of that, over the past few months, I've read numerous Food & Wine articles, and I've devoured the French Women Don't Get Fat books (could there be a more perfect time to read them than just after having a baby? I doubt it.) And I've started cooking again - for real (and drinking for real, too). Looking back, I've thought a lot about food over the past few months. I just haven't had time to capture my thoughts.

I won't catch up on my restaurant reporting - not completely. And I'm so behind in my reading that any book or article commentary will be woefully late. But now that I remember how much the act of writing about food adds to my appreciation of all things culinary, I'm going to make it a point to get back on the blog.

Maybe not every day. But some days. At least.