Food, glorious food.

I have been reading Julia Child's book, My Life in France.  So far, it is a good read, although full of French words I don't know.  She also goes into great detail about dishes that I'm not sure I would like to eat.  Despite being such a foodie, I can't remember ever eating true French food.  Honestly, I'm afraid I wouldn't like most of it and then I would feel horribly uncultured.  This is exactly why I tried to make myself like mushrooms for at least my first 20 years of life.  I have friends with previously tame palates that have been won over by French food, so who knows, maybe I would be won over as well.  If I ever make it to France...which this book definitely makes me want to travel to.

Despite my dislike of fish heads, mushrooms, veal, and snails - I can relate to her craving for REAL & GOOD food that actually has flavor.  And that was prepared without the use of robots, conveyor belts, or freezers before I ate it.  The book will make your turkey sandwich and microwaved broccoli in fake reduced-calorie butter sauce seem way less appealing.  It makes me want to cook an actual - wait for it - Meal!  Like, with an entree and 2 sides and everything.  I spend a lot of time daydreaming about cooking meals, but it rarely happens.  Somehow, the tired single career girl on weight watchers thing gets in the way. 
She took it up as a hobby and was judged for being a middle-class housewife that wanted to learn to cook instead of having the housekeeper do it for her. Imagine.


I was also struck by the fact that Julia Child became so enamored with food in France because she did not grow up eating tasty meals.  She grew up wealthy in California and had only eaten whatever their cook at the time provided for them.  She had no "food roots".  I cannot conceive this because 1.) I'm Southern and 2.) I grew up in a family of excellent and resourceful cooks.  I have too often taken that for granted.
 
The book is also interesting because it goes into detail about being a former spy/expat diplomat in post-war France.  It's a viewpoint and part of history that I'm not very familiar with.  You quickly realize that Julia Child is not merely the tall lady with a weird voice that cuts up chickens on PBS.  

The end :)