a moment

So I had a moment a few weeks ago while I was visiting some friends in Chicago.  Alone for the afternoon I decided to walk around my old neighborhood. 

With a cup of lentil soup from Sultan’s Market, I sat on a bench in Wicker Park, looking at the fountain and listening to Otis Redding’s (Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay on repeat. (This may be the most perfect song ever.  It is everything a song should be.)

There was a homeless man sleeping a few benches away and young guy across the fountain, fiddling with his hiking backpack, waiting for someone. 

It was drizzling but not really raining and it was just cold enough to see the steam coming from my cup.  It was just one of those perfect moments… the crisp, wet air, the warm and lemony lentil soup, Otis’ voice. 

I wanted to take that moment (put it in that cup of soup) and take it home with me.

That moment kind of inspired me to start a food blog.  Recently I find myself in a little bit of a rut with my cooking.  I get to style food for tv as part of my job, but I want to be inspired again by what is all around me when I cook. 

I realized that the right song, the right bench, and the right cup of soup can make a random, fall day magical, so why not try to cook food inspired by a song or a painting or something that catches my eye.  

Ok (deep breath) here we go...

echoes, ripples, buzz’d whispers, love-root, silk-thread, crotch and vine

                                                 -walt whitman

                        (because he found inspiration everywhere)