Why Blog about Food?

Inspired by a posting by a novice blogger (not a veteran of 10 months like me), I decided to explain why I blog.

Why another food blog? Why do I write? I’ve become acquainted (virtually) with a few bloggers in the year I’ve been writing. For all that blogging is discussed; these questions don’t come up much. Breezy “About” sections will provide hints, but more likely the author will confess to an insatiable fondness for garlic, a vague desire to share the foods they like, and love for their sheltie/shepherd mix. None of these things are bad. I like dogs, garlic and sharing food. But none of this covers why I write.

My excellent seventh-grade English teacher assigned every student a daily journal for the entire year. I loved it, but I haven’t always enjoyed writing. Deeply self-conscious about anything I wrote, my inner critic turned college papers into grueling marathons of editing and revision; the papers often late and shorter than the assigned minimum length. But slowly, I noticed a growing stack of compliments. Teachers praised my work. My grades suffered penalties for tardiness, but not for content. With this modest encouragement and an offhand comment from a comic author, I decided to test the waters of blogging.

Food wasn’t a difficult choice. I’ve cooked for some time. I enjoy it immensely. I generally don’t burn food; that aside, I don’t make pretensions about talent. I enjoy reading political news, stories about journalism, and economics. But each requires a level of knowledge I don’t have, time or effort to research I am unwilling to commit. Generalist blogs are often entertaining, but more often are self-indulgent. With food, I could explore a passion that I am knowledgeable about, and write about my experiments. Food is important. It would be difficult to overstate this. Thankfully, I could write without agonizing deadlines. The writing muscle would get exercise. I edit my postings carefully. I take few liberties with statements I make about food. But the stakes (steaks) are not so high. Any errors are my own.