Julie’s Comments (group member since Sep 12, 2011)

Julie’s comments from the Meredith Mileti hosts a Q&A group.

Greek yogurt, half-n-half and goat cheese. I never realized I'm so about the dairy!

Ditto on the cream soups, though I do like pureed — in fact, I just had a tasty carrot and tomato soup at Paris 66 (on Centre Ave in Pittsburgh's Penn Circle). But now I'm craving the spicy thai chicken soup with noodles you mentioned, Meredith!

I have a Turkey-and-White-Bean chili recipe that we love. The seasonings include cumin and cocoa, garnishes are cilantro and red onion.

I think food covers the spectrum on the hierarchy of needs, from base nourishment and a sense of safety to self-expression and sensual pleasure. Food plays a role in all of them. As for the recent popularity of food as a reading topic - not just in novels but in nonfiction - I think society has a growing concern for our food system and a growing yearning for the emotions related to food: warmth, security, joy, love. It's a big scary world out there. Food, and foodie novels, are comfort!

I once commented to my yoga instructor that for a creative person I didn't feel I was very good at thinking outside the box. Her comment was that there were two different ways to be creative. One was to create out of the blue, the other was to create by combining existing things in different ways. That's me. And I think that's why I'm a baker instead of a cook. I like to create within a structure. So I'll add chocolate chips to the oatmeal cookie recipe, or use a lemon cream cheese frosting on a sugar cookie. I don't mess with the science behind the baking — I like knowing I can rely on that science — but I have fun within the parameters.