and so it begins...

twenty years ago on a night like tonight i would stuff my satchel with notebooks, pens, cigarettes and a few dollars for a bottomless cup of coffee and trek over to the 'why not cafe' on belmont st. in chicago where i grew up.  i didn't cook then, the computer in my house ran .dos and connecting to the internet was still pretty scifi - so, versus this moment, my world has changed.  i've grown up a lot, i live a drive away from a coffee shop (which is probably closed now), and instead of notebooks and writing filling these last hours of the night i like to draw up shopping lists and compose menu's.  for me, the pleasure of cooking starts at the first thought:  there will be dinner! i'll draw a picture of a plate on a piece of legal paper and sketch out the chicken breast, the salmon filet, the pasta noodles... depending on the day, how much time i have, what grocery stores i'll be driving by, the meal can go in a dozen different directions.  so, there's a planning phase. then there's shopping:  grocery stores are fine - they've come so far, even the chains make an effort and if i spend time in the aisles i'll always find a new item i'm intrigued by, something that will inspire that evening's meal.  but it's the boutique shops that get me in trouble.  where i live now, there are a ton.  my girlfriend and i moved to maine at the start of the year, and i have gradually become more and more aware of the strong food culture here.  the farmers, wine merchants, fishmongers, farmstands, cheese shops and bakeries stand tall in their communities - it's inspiring, and it's a big part of why i'm starting this blog.  my goal is to create a record.  i want to track my progress in what i feel is a new step for me.  a better (wiser) cook, yes, but also a more complete person.  cooking has so much tradition, and whenever i am swept up in it (an afternoon entangled in flour and egg and a rolling pin, an evening spent skimming stock...) i feel i come out more connected to...well, to what i don't really know, or can't really say.  another reason, perhaps, why i have started this blog:  to be more soulful, to express my passion for cooking and by doing so, perhaps to grow. and so it begins...