have i met you?

Thursday 6:10 pm

I'm sipping my second glass of wine, sitting at a cute bistro style table for two, flying solo tonight. Always one to love anticipation, the fettuccini primavera is right up there but not as much as the adjacent Eisemann Center presentation I'm heading into soon: Samin Nosrat!

Before W, I dined alone a lot. I quite enjoyed it, so much that I'm always confused that so many others don't. I was looking forward to some pre-show time to hole up here and start a blog, but the live guitarist put a twist in my plan, playing and softly singing many Neapolitan love songs. First up was That's Amore! That the couple sitting directly across from him ordered a pizza, didn't go unnoticed.

The (wonderfully affordable) house Happy Hour Chardonnay was average but the pasta was great, and don't get me started on the crisp, light bread roll. Several songs later, I really didn't want to leave.

Friday 1:46 pm

Idol might be a little strong but it is the word that first pops in my head, thinking about Samin Nosrat. The Universe has woven its web for our kindred spirit paths to cross.  

She spoke to me like lyrics speak universally. We, Samin and I, seem like strangers accessing life in the same way.

The presentation was a conversational format, her friend and narrator setting up questions to admittedly cover the contents of the new book on tour. It was light and funny and yet full of richness in story and heart. Story and heart is where I so strongly relate to Samin.

The book itself was the first thing to stand out to me. She spoke of how many years it took to finish her first, Salt Fat Acid Heat, and then this one. Granted they are both large, larger than mine, but I still wanted yell out from the Tier-Row U Seat 1, "10 years for me!" She too, hates writing recipes and testing recipes! 

Her approach to food is very grounded. She understands that many populations of people can't afford organics or the highest qualities in any food group, but she believes that dishes and meals can still be made delicious. I'm sure her new book, Good Things, will show you and me just that.

Affordability for quality ingredients has been a soapbox of mine for a long time. As a pescatarian, I am saddened that a typical family cannot afford good, nutritious seafood. Where it is farmed or caught, where it is processed then shipped, are all issues which can't even be considered for a majority of consumers.

Leaping to entertaining, because that's what food does to some of us, Samin confesses to appreciating, owning, and adoring nice things. Her collection of cookware, serveware, and objects of delight brings her joy, yet she frets that friends and guests will think her pretentious. Oh, do I understand that. I explain I'd sincerely rather a guest use an expensive item than for it to sit on a shelf somewhere. If it breaks, and a few have, then it becomes a gathering to especially remember and cherish. Samin says that in a way it provides relief; a set that was six is now five and seems more usable without caution present.

The last, a lasting impression, is our shared belief in sharing food experiences, be they eat-standing-up appetizers in the kitchen, outdoor picnics, or a large, gussied up sit-down dinner. As I once tried to garner interest in starting Sunday Dinners, Samin wished for the same. Instead, she got Mondays. Hers are informal, very kid friendly, and everyone contributes as they wish. 

In my house turned pseudo Bistro, there is an anytime, fairly regular congregation of friends. W and I find nothing more heartwarming than having guests who wish to come and share in sacred friendships, wine, food, non-stop conversation, and abundant appreciation for it all.