Parsley-Lane Blog 101 x 2
This is the 202nd genuine post on the Parsley-Lane Blog (drum roll, please!). As the editor, I consider it my noble right and duty to interview the main author—myself. In doing so, I am continuing a tradition I started last year. Enjoy some more insides as well as further insights.
Editor: You’ve been inventing recipes your whole life, but never with such intensity or quantity as you have in the past three years since starting the blog. Has your recipe creation process changed?
Mag: It definitely has. Now, I have more ways to create a recipe. The first way is the classic approach: What ingredients do I have in the fridge, and which leftovers need to be used up? The second way is to make something I want to eat and write down the ingredients right after I finish cooking. To tell the truth, I usually start pinning it down while I’m cooking if I think it’s going to be good. Recently, I’ve found that sometimes recipes now just appear in my head, especially at night. Then there’s the way I create recipes for ingredient specials, which is sort of a mix of all the methods mentioned before.
Editor: All of the recipes are plant-based. If you suggest dairy products or fish, they are always offered as alternative options, not as essentials. Why not label your recipes as vegan, low-gluten, low-fat, or even vegetarian?
Mag: I had this fascinating Table Talk with Sophie Tebbetts from the London-based soup kitchen project FoodCycle early last year. She mentioned that they only offered vegetarian food due to strict food laws and costs. As it turned out, they ended up not having to consider any cultural boundaries. People from all walks of life and with multiple cultural backgrounds can sit side by side and enjoy the food. No one really cares that it’s vegetarian. It’s just food made with care and love for the people in their community. That’s why I try not to label anything on the blog. I want to make suggestions. Whether or not you follow them is up to you and your personal preferences. You may be motivated by nutritional, cultural, environmental, or other personal needs. Food is as personal as it gets.
Editor: Is that why you usually don’t critique?
Mag: Exactly. I would rather point out the things that connect us than the ones that divide us. People can relate to those positive aspects and work together on their shared culture. Plus, I guess I’m more of a solutions person than a problems person.
Editor: How did your family and friends react to the new recipes?
Mag: Some recipes are already quite popular, like the Phantom Bearlings, the Picalotta Fusion Salad, stews, and desserts. The cakes are a regular staple, some more than others. For example, the cheesecake from the blueberry special last year and the covered cake from the first year are very popular. Plus Becka’s Cake, which is not fully my recipe, but rather a sort of co-creation with my grandaunt, whose cooking journal I inherited. The Sweet and Sour Salad Sauce is also a classic. My husband makes it every evening for our supper salad.
Editor: The blog is pretty mixed. How would you describe its focus?
Mag: As I mentioned at the beginning and have repeated from time to time, the blog is about mindful eating and good food. That’s a very broad range when you consider all the associated topics. Good food is not an absolute concept. It depends on a person’s personal preferences, the availability of food, and all the processes and factors involved in obtaining ingredients and preparing a meal. Sharing food is a central part of life. This is of great significance to everyone. There are cultural habits attached to it. Food and memories of how food was prepared in our childhood and close environment are part of who we are and what we consider ‘home’. The singer-songwriter and author Spottiswoode described it wonderfully at our Table Talk last Christmas. And there are many more aspects. In fact, I am constantly discovering new, exciting things to write about as I journey down Parsley-Lane.
Editor: Well, Mag. Thank you. We’ve reached the next fork in the road, so it’s time to part ways again. I hope you continue to enjoy your fascinating journey and keep sharing your ideas, insights, and recipes. I’ll talk to you again in 101 posts.
Mag: It was my genuine pleasure. I hope the readers of the Parsley-Lane Blog keep hitting this lane, so to speak. To everyone out there: Make a difference with the food you buy, prepare, and eat! And don’t forget to enjoy it! 😉
Side Notes:
- The Table Talks I was referring to are, of course, [‘Sharing the Good Things’] (with singer, songwriter, bandleader, and actor Spottiswoode, London and New York) and [‘Bold Kitchen’] (with Sophie Tebbetts, CEO of the FoodCycle project, Great Britain).