Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Where, Oh, Where Has The Pink Slip Gourmet Been?

I wish I could say that I am just so Euro after spending a year in Paris that my blogging absence can be explained by a fabulous "holiday" I’ve been on all summer long without a care in the world. However, that is not exactly the case (unless you call being a slave to nausea a holiday). You see, B and I brought back a little souvenir from our time in Paris, and in January he or she will join the world. Yep - a little French-bred baby is on the way and boy (or girl) did it give its mama some serious trouble all summer long.

You can imagine my despair when merely a week had passed from my return to Dallas from a year of culinary learning/adventures in Paris when I discovered that food was now enemy Numero Un. I wanted absolutely NOTHING to do with food. The thought, smell, sound, and sight of it made me utterly sick. This in turn made me distraught and depressed considering I had just spent a year away from family, friends and the comfort of good Mexican food (not to mention way too many Euros) to make food my new career.

Merde. I mean, it’s pretty rare to find a chef that can’t stomach anything having to do with food. Thus, believe me when I say that the following question consumed me: “What in the world am I going to do?” Well, I learned that there was nothing I actually could do. It was out of my hands this time.  I was simply going to have to wait it out. And wait it out I did for 15 long weeks. As I ate saltine cracker after saltine cracker, I went back and forth between seeing the irony/humor in the situation and thinking I would never again have any interest in what used to be my passion, my calling: good food.

Luckily, after 15 weeks, the old Pink Slip Gourmet returned. I not only had the desire to eat (everything in sight I might add), but I was also ready to conquer the kitchen again. Plans for trying new recipes and mastering the old ones I learned in France were hatched. Blog ideas were floating in my head - just waiting to be posted. I was ready to make my triumphant return to food. That's when I noticed my malnourished husband. Not only had I been the reason we only saw each other sporadically last year, but I was now the reason he hadn't eaten well in over three months. So, I decided to focus on feeding him all the scrumptious breakfasts, lunches, dinners and desserts he so rightly thought he would be receiving upon my return from France but had yet to see.

Now that he's well-fed and back on track, I'm back to bringing you everything food, French, and fun that I possibly can. Check back frequently or subscribe to receive the blog via email in order to keep up with the return of the (pregnant and hungry) Pink Slip Gourmet.