Yes, I said adventure. I know, I get it, some people bark at those of us about our interest in and borderline obsessions with food. I say, get over it. I have been the person, the fat girl at the party when I was just in 2nd grade who was so fixated on the cake that I didn’t bother to play any games, or socialize. I hung out around the table with the mom’s cutting that delightful lump of sugary heaven into slices, hoping mine was the biggest. No matter how big it was, it wasn’t enough and I had to figure out a way to get a second piece without being made fun of, or somehow just get through the rest of the stupid party so I could go home and eat some Twinkies.

On, in the little article I forgot to mention the candied sweet potato on the plate with the cactus. Watch out blood sugar, here I come! Oh, and the lovely display in the front of the photo is for my oh-so-mature husband

So, fast forward about 40 years or so and I still LOVE LOVE food. I don’t deny it. I don’t pretend it’s something I just do to nourish my body. Eating is fun, delicious, comforting, exciting, stimulating, and yes, it nourishes our bodies. In the last couple of years I have made changes to the same old same old routines. I ate lovely food all my life, lots of cheese, pasta, potatoes, meat, sugar, soda, sweet tea, and more. It was all fantastic and I wouldn’t trade it for all the wheatgrass and tofu in the world….however, being alive for over 40 years for me brought a certain feeling of ho-hum. Life needs a bit of a shake up.

I love my husband dearly, can’t get rid of him. I like my job (most of the time), don’t want to change that neccessarily. I love our home, dont ‘want to move. I committed to draw more, make more art, be more creative and that’s slowly but surely coming true. I wanted to visit my mom is Mexico in the winter, did that. There are so many other things to add to this life I haven’t gotten to yet, because of circumstance, money, or whatever. The thing I can change, every day, is food.

Candied sweet potato and cactus leaves...hmmm what magic can I work with these items?

Today is a good example. In the thousands upon thousands of shopping trips in my life I had bought so many of the same things over and over and over. I am learning new habits. New stores mean new adventures. We have an excellent Mexican store in our town that most people don’t even know about. I got a tortilla press, some excellent hot sauce I tried while in Bucerias, and some cacti leaves. I’m not sure if I am brave enough to peal them, but I had it in Mexico and I loved it so why not try it here at home too?

I went to the health food store and got some Vegan Worchestshier sauce, brown rice vinegar, buckwheat soba noodles, and a bit of interesting looking tea. This isn’t brand new to me, I’ve been trying new things for a while now and it’s fantastic. It does cost more sometimes, but then, so does a trip to the Greece or China for a travel adventure. I don’t work those into my schedule, so food is the next best thing to experiencing new things.

I'm not what you would call a hippy-dippy type, thoug they are awesome. I'm more the cynical artsy snotty jaded type. So, buckwheat soba noodles, peach nector, cactus leaves, gluten-free wafers, vegan sauce, squash in a can, organic lemon cookies....it's all new territory and I love it.

I wanted to make some sushi, but didn’t quite get all the ingredients together. I will make some tortillas and see how they turn out. Ohhh I feel excited just thinking about the possibility that I will make something delicious, or crappy…that’s how it goes sometimes. Even if it’s crappy, it’s more entertaining, more fun, and more interesting than a box of mac and cheese and a ham sandwich. (note, I love boxed mac and cheese )