When I started writing this blog about 2.5 years ago, I didn’t know what a blog was. I started it only as a way to keep in touch with some parents who had attended a session I gave about kids and food, picky eaters, and planning a weekly dinner menu (something that I have done as a personal chef ) at my son’s day care

My first posts were the handouts I gave to the participants. (Hey, first readers from way back in July 2008, are you still reading my blog?)

Later on, the blog took a life of its own and led me in different directions. From focusing on those 3 topics, with the weekly dinner menu plan as the main focus, I added A cake for the weekend “column” (Because I’m crazy about baking, and eating, a home-made cake—it’s just sooo relaxing!), Cooking with kids, Family friendly restaurants but their kid-friendly menus. I actually named my blog family-friendly food because of my deep dislike for the kids’ menus offered in restaurants. (It’s mostly junk food and low quality.)

Down the road I became aware of the politics of food after watching a movie about genetically modified food—what horror!—and wrote a few Power and Food posts after that. Those led to launching a second blog! called Good Food & Bad Food, but keeping two blogs was way too much work. (There’s good stuff posted there though, that you might want to read.)

Then I started blogging about Weight Loss/Diet, but I lost interest because I never cared that much about diets or the extra roundness on my thighs. When you’re 40, it’s sexy!

For a short while I experimented with Restaurant reviews and Food books & Cookbooks reviews. Then I had a series of Happy posts to lift up my spirit and some of the readers who needed it…

Next, Food Photography. But when my father became seriously ill, I started focusing more on my family relationships in my posts.

So, as you can see, I traveled many roads in the past 2.5 years of blogging but in the end, I lost track and interest.

 

Then, a few weeks ago, I invited some friends over to dinner. One of them got very excited about the roasted chicken I was preparing. As she stood next to me and peeled some vegs, she made a few enthusiastic comments. At first I thought she was pulling my leg. So I doubled checked: “You’re kidding me, right?” I asked her.

“No!” she said, “I mean it!”

Still not-believing, I asked carefully, afraid not to hurt her feelings or sounding patronizing, “You are that excited about a simple roasted chicken?”

“Yes! If I make this kind of dish for my family, they will go crazy!” she insisted.

And then it hit me.

There are people out there who don’t know how to roast a chicken. (But she says she can stir fry.)

My conclusion #1: invite friends over to dinner more frequently!

My conclusion #2: make your friends work with you in the kitchen! You might hear something interesting and/or get inspired.

 

Her comment did put me back on track. Re-focused me.

Her excitement about the simple dish of roasted chicken (with a Dijon marinade) and vegetables underneath it—the easiest thing to do, or so I thought—reminded me why I started writing this blog (and before that, why I was cooking as a personal chef), and about other things I wanted to do relating to food. Or, to be more exact, the food & family connection.

And this is exactly what I will be focusing on in this blog from now on.

And if I forget or go astray, please remind me with a whack on my head. But be gentle, please.

I will be refocusing on what drives me the craziest, Dinner! With a capital D.

Family dinner. Dinners.

And cakes.

OK, and cookies too. Because… They are an inseparable part of a family.

So, in a way, after 2.5 years, I’m closing a circle. I’ve taken a road with lots of loop-de-loops and now I’m back to the starting point. Only a bit wiser and more experienced.

***

Epilogue

So… my friend roasted a chicken and vegetables for dinner and planned to make a chicken stock after from the bones as I have done when she was here.

She reported back that dinner was a failure. Humf.

This means only one thing: I’m on a mission. There is still a lot of work to be done.

There are people out there who need to know how to roast a chicken.

***

Let’s start with some roasted chicken recipes I posted in the past:

Baked Chicken Meatballs

Roasted Delicately-Lemony Chicken

Balsamic and Sweet Roasted Chicken

Thanksgiving-y Chicken Dinner

Whole Roasted Chicken with Chardonnay-Tarragon Sauce, Roasted Potatoes and Carrots

Leftovers: Roasted Chicken

Roasted chicken with orange-mustard marinade, yellow jasmine rice, steamed broccoli

***

Thank you to all the readers who have stuck with me and are still visiting my site and reading my posts!

Thank you to those who comment!

Thank you to those who have tried my recipes!

Thank you to those who came back with feedback about the recipes!

Thank you, people!

Categories : Chicken, Stuff