On a regular basis, I destroy the kitchen. When I first started cooking, it was understandable, as I hadn’t yet mastered the flow of cooking and would use multiple knives, bowls, and other utensils in order to create a meal. Things would get messy in a hurry, with the sink overrun with pots, pans, and measuring cups galore. Splatters and splashes decorated the counter, the stove top, the sink, and any other surface where food could spill.

It would be fair to say that I still sometimes have that problem, though I have improved considerably since those first couple months. On occasion, I even wash dishes as I cook, although I usually leave the dirty work to my dutiful and wonderful husband. He is the one who often declared that I had “destroyed the kitchen.” Fortunately, this was usually after he had enjoyed a good meal, so he was most forgiving.

Today, as he and I celebrate the anniversary of the day we met, I feel it appropriate to illuminate why destroying the kitchen is actually a good thing. A destroyed kitchen, in our house, is a happy kitchen. In the months of my recovery from illness, it came to mean that I was well enough to cook, which was a good sign indeed. It also means the kitchen is well used and well loved. I only destroy the kitchen when I am caught up in the act of cooking, and it usually results in a fantastic meal.

Destroying the kitchen is, in my eyes, a form of art itself. Sometimes, even I am amazed at the mess I am able to create. It’s never intentional, but caught up in creating some culinary masterpiece (usually), it just happens. And I take it as a sign of a job well done: the messier the kitchen, the more delicious the meal.

Above: My pretty sink, before the destruction.

Note: “The fourth wall” is a term used to describe the imaginary wall at the front of the stage between the actors and the audience during a play (rooms only have three walls on set so that the inside of the room is visible to the audience). When an actor speaks directly to the audience, it is referred to as “breaking” the fourth wall.

For about 3 months, the Misunderstood Eggplant lay dormant while I recovered from an unexpected illness. Once I started to see the end of my recovery, I debated how to return to posting. When I started the site as Jenn’s Cook Book, the content was pretty cut and dry: short intro or notes, ingredients, and instructions. As time went by the content progressed, with the introduction of Special Projects and the Bitter/Sweet blog. Throughout it all, however, I intentionally left distance between the content and my personal life.

When I was able to return to the kitchen, I was forced to address the issue and eventually relented and posted a message on the main page of the site. The explanation was fairly brief and to the point, and I owed the site that much. Though I was reluctant to begin posting again, I knew that I did not want to let the site go. It was a temporary band-aid solution for the issue.

In the meantime, I had referred a friend to a blog I enjoyed that had some content relevant to her own cooking and lifestyle. I mentioned that I had not been to the blog in some time, but was certain it was still up and running as it appeared to have a strong online following. A few days ago, I happened to be browsing online and decided to visit the blog and to my surprise the author had posted a farewell message.

At first, the message was remarkably similar to my own but as I read further, I realized the author was not dealing with a temporary issue or simply moving on in life. She revealed some deep psychological troubles, and with the help of a therapist, she had decided to leave her blog because it was a reminder of childhood trauma (though to the benefit of her readers, she is allowing the content to remain online and performing basic maintenance).

Reading her admissions certainly put my own hesitation into perspective. She did not just allow readers a peek behind the fourth wall; rather she had torn it down completely. While I admire her bravery, it is not the route I prefer to take. What I did realize was that I could continue on with the Misunderstood Eggplant, despite my misgivings, because the site does not stir up negative emotions for me. Rather, I am ready to return to it and will seize this as an opportunity to again work toward the evolution of the site…into what, I cannot be sure, but I am excited to find out.

Nothing is more discouraging than staring at a table full of beige food: starchy potatoes, bread, pasta,  rice, even breaded or fatty meats. While some of these are foods I love, when I see a table of beige food, it tells me there is no seasoning whatsoever. Where are the herbs, the spices, the sauces? Where is the flavor? Because beige food doesn’t just look beige, it tastes beige.

One of the things you will notice about the recipes on this site is that the pictures are usually quite colorful. Aside from visual interest, I work hard to incorporate a variety of elements into each dish because I like to offer complete meals: protein, vegetables, herbs and spices, and a starch. Colorful food just seems more appealing, and it is a better balance of nutrients. It’s hard for me to imagine serving fried chicken with white rice and a side of cheesy potatoes, but for some people that is an everyday dinner.

Maybe it is the security of these foods, often referred to as comfort foods, that causes people to follow such a monochromatic diet. I am always a bit awestruck when eating over at someone’s house and the vegetable dish consists of a couple cans of limp vegetables heated in the microwave. The beigeness of American diets has actually gone under some serious scrutiny. Nutrition experts have chastised the lack of variety present in the American meal, full of carbs and empty calories. Just look at the typical fast food meal to illustrate the point: beef patty and bun, french fries, soda, and perhaps a deep fried pie or vanilla ice cream. Just thinking about the sodium content is enough to make me reach for a glass of water!

This is even the subject of some “healthy living” books and “diets” that focus on adding more colorful food to the plate. These are not necessarily weight loss diets, but suggestions on changing overall daily routines by adding more fruits, vegetables, fresh herbs and spices (and therefore reducing the amount of beige food consumed). One such book, What Color is Your Diet? focuses on replacing various beige foods like bread and potatoes with a range of colorful foods.

So here are some tips to help reduce the amount of beige in your diet (without feeling like you’re dieting):

• Swap your starch side dish for pureed vegetables, like sweet potatoes, butternut squash, or cauliflower.
• Add chopped and sauteed veggies to rice dishes.
• Serve pasta as a side or compliment rather than the main dish, like serving stir-fry over rice.
• Look for whole grain pastas, rice, and bread.
• Put a bowl of fresh cut fruit on the dinner table rater than serving dessert.
• Rather than serving food over rice or couscous, try fresh spinach or mixed greens.

Lately, I have been updating the site with recipes and blog entries like a madwoman. Part of it is probably some left over energy from my extended hiatus this spring and summer, but mostly it is because I am gearing up to complete a rather large and ambitious special project. This particular project is going to take things a step further, as I am actually registered for a Liberal Studies Independent Readings course for the semester entitled: What is food?

The purpose of this project is to explore the intrinsic qualities of food and how this is expressed through cultural storytelling. If that sounds like a mouthful, it is. To break it down, there are qualities to food that exist outside of the simple need of eating food to live. We associate emotions and memories to certain foods, such as comfort from a bowl of soup or an image of grandma from the smell of baking cookies. The project will explore how we take these thoughts and create stories, similar to the barrage of cooking memoirs now available that combine recipes with personal stories.

The overall intent of this project is to define how food culture in developed and guided, particularly through the lens of American pop culture. My prelimary answer to the question “What is food?” is that “Food is everything.” I am also using this site as a vehicle for the project, including blog posts that will be considered “assignments” and potentially a resource page relating to food culture and/or storytelling.

Let’s cut to the chase: what does all this mean? Here’s the run down:

• Fewer new recipe posts. There are nearly 400 recipes already on this site and most of my current cooking has been various reincarnations of dishes I have already made, so this is not a detriment to the site.

• More Books for Cooks reviews. As the name suggests, an independent reading project consists of a fair amount of literature. This is exciting because the current Books for Cooks section is quite lacking in variety and substance.

• Regular Bitter/Sweet entries. Consistent project updates will be posted, with discussions ranging from the readings to current events and other related subjects. Not too dissimilar from the current blog, but with a bit more long-term focus.

• Possible design and format changes. There are always updates going on behind the scenes as software becomes out-dated, and there are usually talks of major overhauls on a semi-regular basis. This is not a dramatic departure from the standard mode of operation.

• New categories added. Depending on how I decide to structure this project on the site, there will be new categories on the Bitter/Sweet blog as well as the site in general. It is possible that I will also add additional pages for the information.

Last year at this time, I posted about the Arctic Tug-A-War in which several nations are clamoring for a place in the arctic and access to its resources. But even with all this attention, no one is taking responsibility to ensure the environmental stability of a fragile ecosystem in peril.

Now, one year later, CNN is again reporting on the struggles in the Arctic. This time around, the climate change is literally making the village of Shishmaref disappear. This tiny village sits on the edge of the Chukchi Sea in the Arctic Circle, where increasing global temperatures are thawing the permafrost and causing the coastline to erode and fall into the ocean.

Many other villages on the Alaskan coastline are facing tremendous problems due to global warming, including coastal erosion and flooding. Entire houses have slid away from the shore and fallen into the icy waters. This has caused entire villages to relocate, but some residents are not as quick to move as their neighbors.

For many people in these communities, the ground on which stand holds significant meaning for their cultures and families. By moving, some feel they are losing a piece of themselves. This reluctance to move seems almost crazy, as some houses perch dangerously close to the icy ocean waters.

The people of Shishmaref, known as Inupiat, have a history on this island dating back to the early 1900′s. Considered an indigenous “Indian” or “Eskimo” tribe, the Inupait people have a proud history like many other Native American tribes in the United States. Asking them to give up their land is asking them to give up their history.

The report from CNN, which is incredibly extensive, goes on to site a 2009 Government Accountability Office report that “found that 31 Alaskan villages face ‘imminent threats’ because of coastal erosion, flooding and climate change. At least 12 are at some stage in the relocation process.”

Now the finger pointing begins, blaming every thing from industrialized nations to government to the average person driving an automobile, and of course the talk from skeptics who state that global warming is a myth (see this report on “Climategate“). In the meantime, where are the estimated 150 climate change refugees suppose to go?

It is a complex issue and increasing problem without an easy solution. Rather than asking who is to blame, however, perhaps we should be asking who can and is willing to help?