Let's Get This Banquet Started!

Yeah, I know I could have called it "Let's Get This Party Started", but keeping with the theme and all...

Welcome to my blog! I am a die-hard food lover. Whereas some people eat to live, I proudly live to eat. I believe that, like so many other things one experiences, the quality of one's life is directly influenced by the quality of the food he or she consumes, whether one consumes it alone, or surrounded by beloved friends and family. Though food and drink are essential for survival, I believe that they provide much more than mere nourishment. They are a means to true fulfillment.

I'm not big on labels, but if I had to give myself one, I'd say that I am a foodie. Traditionally, a foodie has been described as an enthusiast of food and drink. Although the people who've cooked for me over the years would probably say that I have a discerning palate, I don't consider my tastes particularly refined. I am not a gourmet or an epicure by any means. It's not because these terms convey images of high-brow snobbery; some who know me well would certainly call me a food snob, so it's not the connotation of elitism that turns me off to such nomenclature. No, while I do appreciate so-called haute cuisine, I have been known to frequent the Taco Bell drive-thru when the urge for cheap pseudo-Mexican food strikes me. I doubt that the gourmet community at large would welcome me with open arms.

Simply put, I love food. I'm not sure from whence my passion sprung: My parents are not particularly adventurous eaters. Although my mother introduced me to Mexican food - not Taco Bell but legitimate Mexican food - at a very young age, as a child most of the meals I enjoyed at home were tailored to my father's preferences. It is notable that my father has lived on a diet of meat and starch for the majority, if not the entirety, of his life. No produce. No spices. No sauces. Little seafood (no shellfish). Very little ethnic food. When you're an adolescent, it can be very difficult to seek out the more exotic elements of the culinary spectrum. But seek them out I did.

This blog is devoted to - and a celebration of - all the things I love to eat (and drink). It will be a repository for recipes, reviews, anecdotes, and food-related photography. I hope you enjoy reading it.