The Kitchen Daughter

I hate to eat alone. I admire people who can venture out to restaurants with a book and calmly sit down and eat a leisurely dinner. When I go to conferences or travel, my least favorite thing is to eat alone. It doesn't matter if it's in public or in the privacy of my own home, I don't like eating by myself. Well, I should correct that statement: I don't like eating dinner by myself. My hatred of eating alone is the genesis of this blog: even though I was cooking for myself, and eating by myself, by blogging about the food I made, I could somehow share my meals. Blogging about life in my lonesome little kitchen made it seem much less lonely. For me, food has always been as much about the people I eat with as the food I'm eating. And, yes, there are certain foods that I always associate with loved ones. If you've read this blog for awhile, then you know I can't touch bread dough without thinking of my beloved BaBa. And I'm always thinking of those I love, near and far, any time I'm in the kitchen. Some memories are powerful, and there are times I like to imagine loved ones looking over my shoulder as I make things I know they would enjoy (figuratively speaking, that is, you know I hate having real people look over my shoulder while I cook!).

In her novel, The Kitchen Daughter, fellow food blogger Jael McHenry has managed, quite beautifully I think, to explain the powerful, emotional ties of food, of raw ingredients and the alchemy of cooking, to the people who use it. I read the synopsis of this book, and honestly I wasn't sure what to think. Ghost story? Chick lit? A little bit of both? But I was so pleasantly surprised. The Kitchen Daughter really takes on the many different facets of food: comfort, pleasure, routine, and basic nourishment. I'm not going to give a brief version of the story, but I think the novel answers an interesting "what if" question that anyone who loves cooking has probably wondered about. Certainly the process of cooking, certain smells and tastes, conjure up powerful memories of loved ones, but what if, perhaps, it went one step beyond a simple memory?

The novel is really worth reading for all of the reasons novels are worth reading: character and plot development, you get the picture. But really, for anyone who loves food, I think the novel is completely satisfying because the author manages to capture a deeper aspect of our very personal ties to the food we create and consume. Reading this novel reminded me of the feeling of understanding that, I think, is a wonderful byproduct of blogging and social media: the friendships that form between people of shared interests and thoughts, who otherwise might never have crossed paths. There's a quote by C.S. Lewis that sums it up: "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one.'"

And as proof, see if this quote doesn't resonate with you, too:

"I want them to bite into a cookie, and think of me, and smile. Food is love. Food has a power. I knew it in my mind, but now I know it in my heart" (272).

I know that's what I want.

Continue reading here: Such a Teaser Post

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