Years ago, when I was interning for Memoirs Ink, I learned a lot about running a business, but I also learned how to cook lemongrass. You see, the biggest perk of working out of Felice's home office was that we could take breaks to satisfy our crazy cravings in the kitchen. Whether it was sushi, xao xa ot ga (chicken with lemongrass and chilies), or vegan shepherd's pie, our cravings knew no cultural bounds. The longer I worked at Memoirs Ink, the more I came to understand the connection between food and memoirs; in a lot of ways, Felice and I are an example of a relationship founded on a shared love for both. Food, at its most basic, exists to nourish us, but it often does so much more -- it can open doors to the most wonderful relationships and experiences.
After graduating from college, I moved to New York, thousands of miles away from Memoirs Ink and Felice’s kitchen. Now I order xao xa ot ga from Cafe Asean in Greenwich Village instead of wrestling with lemongrass in my tiny studio kitchen. But Felice and I are still cooking up ideas – this time, metaphorically rather than literally. Memoirs Ink’s new pet project, is called Nourishing Narrativess: Memoirs that Get to the Heart of the Platter. It is a blog that celebrates the perennial connection between food and the beautiful stories it evokes (and vice versa). Our ultimate end goal is to publish a collection of stories and recipes that nourish the heart, mind and stomach.
I know a lot of people are much more comfortable with sharing a recipe than a story; I would love for my father to reveal as much about his younger days, as he reveals about his cooking secrets. But recipes also have a power of their own: they can serve as a gateway to old memories, while creating new ones. Proust’s madeleine is the classic example of how a taste can transport people back to the experiences that shaped them as individuals. Digesting and recording those memories into memoirs is a challenge, but one well worth taking. We want to taste your “madeleine,” read your stories and make your food. Indulge our minds and stomachs – submit your story (750 words or less) and recipe to nourishingnarratives at gmail dot com.
You can visit the blog at www.heartoftheplatter.com.
Also, feel free to become a fan on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. We will be having lots of yummy giveaways for our fans.
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