Katy on Wellbeing

Julie, Julia and an Enthusiastic, Sensual Life

Last night a friend and I saw Julie & Julia, based on Julie Powell's blog about working her way through Mastering The Art of French Cooking, and Julia Child's autobiography My Life in France.  Great little film.  Interesting contrast between the lost-but-plucky Julie (Amy Adams) making her tentative way in post-9/11 Queens, and the larger-than-life Julia Child (Meryl Streep) vigorously embracing her new life in Paris.

Streep was a delight as Child.  The sight of her descending upon unsuspecting little Parisians, whooping "BONJOUR!", was priceless.  As were the scenes of her and her sister (played by Jane Lynch) hamming it up as big, loud, exuberant American gals in a sea of small, neat, contained, elegant people.  I'm 5'9", so the sister's great line, "you're too big to fit in .... so you don't!" went straight to my heart.  She didn't just mean physical size, although that was part of it.  She was talking about enthusiasm, appetite, the willingness to be herself on a grand scale and take up space.

Watching Child / Streep, I was struck by how sensuality and enthusiasm go hand in hand, and how together they create a powerful point of attraction.  We're so used to the over-processed, pre-packaged offerings that Madison Avenue and Hollywood have told us are sensual.  Young, thin, beautiful, vacant-eyed, still, cookie cutter creatures with puffy lips and chiseled abs.  It's easy to forget, until we see Streep cutting loose as Child, launching herself at everything from a plucked duck to her beloved husband Paul, that real sensuality comes from enthusiastically enjoying all that the senses have to offer.  The word "enthusiasm" comes from the Greek words en(within) and theos(God).  It means literally within God, running that big life-force energy.  This sensuality is about life, passion, movement, and is available to everyone regardless of age or physical appearance.  It's entirely an inside job.

In parallel, the film was a reminder that we are also in danger of mistaking over-processed, pre-packaged "food products" for actual food.  Yet they lack the same qualities as the images mentioned above: life force energy, sensuality, the ability to truly nourish us body and soul.  The truth is I'm not a big cook.  I do it quite well, but not often.  However, I do delight in eating well, and am drawn to people who love to cook and appreciate the pleasures of the table.  In their company and kitchens, I feel grounded.  Inspired.  Cared for.  My favorite blog these days belongs to my friend Dana Joy Altman.  She's a "real food activist" and a regular Huff Post contributor.  Her blog is a continuous celebration of great food -- it's tastes, scents and visual beauty, as well as the memories and emotions it evokes.

In closing, I have three things to say:

1. Enjoy the film
   
2. Live large
3. BON APPETIT!

Farmers' Markets and Seasonal Eating

(Imported from previous blogging platform, minus comments, 15 May 09)

When my friend Dana Joy posted her Huff Post blog entry on how farmers’ markets provide The Best Tasting Food on Earth, I was fired with enthusiasm.  But at the time the dates for the seasonal Toronto markets had not yet been released.

I’m happy to say that now the locations and dates are available from The Toronto Farmers’ Market Network (TFMN).  And even better, a handful of markets have recently opened or will be opening this weekend!

So what can we expect to find?  What is “seasonal eating” in the early spring in Ontario?  The TFMN tells us:

Field Grown: the first asparagus and rhubarb, chives

Storage Vegetables and Fruits: cabbage, sunchokes (jerusalem artichokes), celery root, apples

Greenhouse/Grown under cover: sprouts, oyster and shiitake mushrooms, wonderful local greens of many kinds such as arugula, mizuna, mustard greens, baby kale, bok choy, lettuce and salad mixes, spinach, cucumbers

Wild Foods: leeks, fiddleheads, morels

With perfect timing for fresh, local salad ingredients, the other night I rediscovered the perfection of made-from-scratch at home salad dressing.  I learned the basic recipe decades ago from Madame Pedroletti, who used it to dress greens picked just a half-hour earlier from her extensive vegetable garden in the Jura region of France.

Whisk together:

• Equal parts good quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar
• A dollop of dijon mustard
• Some chopped fresh herbs (or frozen, or herbes de Provence as Mme P used)
• Salt and pepper to taste

..... that’s it.  And it’s better than any salad dressing you’ve ever found in a bottle.  And you look like such a superstar in the kitchen!!  ;-)

What to do with some of the other early spring delicacies?  My asparagus default is to steam it, then add butter and/or a squeeze of lemon.  Nothing wrong with that.  But for the more adventurous cook, Epicurious.com favors us with a slideshow of asparagus recipes!  As well as all things springy: a rhubarb and strawberry compote with fresh mint, with off the charts ratings for ease and goodness.

Okay, so everybody pack up their recyclable grocery bags, and off we go to the nearest farmer’s market!