Ditching the Day Job

Reverb11 Day 22 (told you I was out of order)

If I could quit my day job and my quality of life would stay the same, what would I do?

COOK! I would have one of those HUGE farm kitchens. I would garden (the way my father has for my whole life). I would "put up" vegetables, jar my own tomatoes, bake my own bread and even try my hand at making butter and cheese. I still remember the Brownie activity where we churned our own butter in a mason jar. I would have one of those fabulous pantries where all the staples like flour, sugar and other grains would be stored in huge roll-out bins. I'd have a 6-burner oven with a grill in the middle. I'd experiment with flavors and seasonings. I have a spice cabinet that is completely out of control and I keep buying more. I almost exploded when I found out my favorite spice company opened a store a mere 60 minute drive away. I have kitchen appliances galore and can always find more I want - my collection includes a bread maker, immersion blender, food processor, Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer, a clay pot, griddles (flat and grilling), and an apple corer/slicer (hey it was a gift).

I once made a spring baked vegetable medley. I still remember how gorgeous it all looked in the pan before going in the oven - the colors, the smells, the feel of the vegetables. I should have taken a picture and am still searching for the recipe. I would wallow in food-lusciousness.

Some of my favorite memories from childhood all involve food. here are just a few!

Helping my father pick veggies in the garden
Helping my dad & grandmother jar the tomatoes - my job was turning the crank on the strainer that separated out the seeds and skin.
On Easter, we would spend hours in the basement kitchen (hey, I'm Italian, we all have an extra kitchen in the basement, it's required or they take away your ID card) making stroufela and bow ties.
For the holidays, my grandmother would hand roll pasta dough and make raviolis. We would spread white sheets on the beds and lay them out to dry.
Eating concord grapes off the vines in the backyard - plus figs, raspberries & strawberries.

Going to places like farmers markets and Whole Foods are like religious pilgrimages for me. I enjoy grocery shopping. I made all of my son's baby food. To this day he has never had a fruit out of a can. He'll probably fall in love with cling peaches (I actually love them).

I have 3 fig trees in my backyard. If I had my way, I'd have 10 plus other fruit trees.

I just want to point out that my longest, and perhaps most passionate blog so far, has been about food. I talk about food the way people talk about their crushes. Come on over, I'll feed you.