Getting to know Ruth

Posted by Lynsie Watkins Mon, 04 Dec 2006 20:07:00 GMT

As I lay in bed, mostly horizontal save my neck and head, which are uncomfortably poised upward by two large pillows, I am arduously attempting to read a book that has taken me eight months to open. Trying to read between the small gray legs and occasional tail swivel of my wonderfully nosy cat, Annabelle, I'm finding myself caught deeper and deeper in the realization that my life has quite remarkably mirrored the life of Ruth Reichl, at least up to this point, anyway.

I'm reading Reichl's 1998 book (memoirs more like) "Tender at the Bone." Colin bought it when we first met, perhaps as a way to emphasize his love for cooking to me. However, his great enthusiasm, and talent, became blatantly clear upon our very first rendez-vous in the kitchen. I, of course, only used the book (that Colin managed to get half-way through) as a means for leaving discreet love notes for him. And, might I add, it did come in quite handy. Little did I know that while sick in bed, recovering from 20 Thanksgiving house guests and a bad cold, I would sit down to finally read Reichl's work myself, and by doing so would unlock the mind of yet another food-genius, and what's more, discover a kindred spirit.

I, too, had a Queen (and King) of Mold. I lived and studied in France, and I, too, have had my fair share of close-calls and risky coming-of-age experiences. But most of all, I too garnered my cooking ability and appreciation from an environment that desperately needed a culinary change. From everything stew (everything left-over, that is) to canisters of food years past their due date. I, too, saw a need for change and took the initiative to takeover. Both Reichl's and my motivations stemmed from observing an era of cooks whose repertoire contained any dish that could be made with a can of condensed mushroom soup. I grew up seeing cookbooks like "How to make five-minute meals." In today's world, tacking on an extra 25 minutes doesn't exactly scream, "We've come a long way, baby!" but I guess it's progress, right Ms. Ray?

What happened to our parents? The war? Most likely. When sugar and butter were scarcely being rationed out, industrial food found its loophole and went right through. Now it's taking a lot of us to patch that hole back up. Sitting next to those five-minute meals cookbooks were most likely Betty Crocker, Country Cooking, and Southern Living (at least from where I was looking). But the real question is, why weren't they used? It's because the food of our mother's and father's came from the beginning of the industrial food revolution. Most people, Reichl aside, are still inspired by this dried food from a box mentality. However, it's no surprise that Reichl had the foresight to see food as a gateway to many other things in life. Reichl, now the Editor-In-Chief of Gourmet Magazine is helping to lead and make way for the real food revolution, and I am proud both to understand her background and move forward with her in our future.