Reading Jule & Julia

I have never been one to just 'jump on bandwagons' as it were. I have always enjoyed doing my own thing. But I gave in this time because I want to see the movie Julie & Julia. So, because of that, I wanted to read the book before I saw the movie. I think that sometimes when I find a book because of a movie, I have predisposed notions of the characters because of the movie. I will give you an example. James Bond. Ian Flemming wrote the James Bond books way before the movies were even thought about. But now depending on the book I am reading, in my mind I see either Sean Connery or Roger Moore as James Bond in that book. There is nothing wrong with it per say, but I feel that it kind of inhibits my imagination.

I love to read because I can imagine what characters look like based on their descriptions and places too. If I have seen the movie, I find that as I read I have the movie running through my head. Again, nothing wrong with that. I just like to stretch my imagination a little.

It is the same with cooking. Some cookbooks have glossy pictures of every recipe in them. While it is nice to look at, I find that people tend to go by what the picture looks like rather than what the recipe turned out as. See, those pictures were set up by professional food stylist. They are supposed to look absolutely perfect. But as well all know, cooking is not about perfection in pictures, it is about perfection on the plate.

Yes, we eat with our eyes first, as the saying goes. However, we also eat with the sense of smell. How many of us have eaten something that looked horrible but smelled divine? Then when you tasted it, it seemed to taste of heaven? I know I have on a lot of occasions, sometimes things that I have made myself.

As a home cook, I think that nothing has to be picture perfect. If your cake leans a bit, who cares? As long as it tastes good. No one is grading you. This my friends is the hardest lesson to learn for me. I am one person who wanted everything perfect. Sometimes, perfect is in the eye of the beholder.

I don't see myself as a chef.. I am a cook. This book is inspiring me to possibly do something similar, although less French. LOL. I am going to have to ponder this feeling.