INTRODUCTION TO THE INVITING LIFE

Throughout my life, individual and collaborative works of art  have inspired, enlivened and imbued my life with deeper resonance.  My passions are not relegated to a single genre.  I am an omnivorous consumer of all facets of the cultural diaspora, movies, music, comics, books, TV, photographs, and paintings. My intention in creating The Inviting Life is to share recommendations based on my explorations of pop-culture and art house ephemera. Some selections will be high-brow, others low-brow, a few will fall resolutely in-between.

Interspersed amongst these writings there will be recipes. It may seem incongruous, combining cultural criticism (criticism being somewhat of a misnomer as I am 90% enthusiast and 10% critic) and food-writing but I would argue that there is more than one way to find sustenance in this world. We can nourish ourselves in ways both elemental and spiritual. And, if  I cannot chat about these things in real time with you dear reader, I can at least provide you with the means to create a dish that is humble yet dinner party worthy within in the confines of your own home.  

P.S. I will provide vegan and vegetarian iterations of the recipes whenever possible.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this.  See you next time! xoxo 

Next Post:  Chickpea Curry, HBO's Los Espookys, Ted Lasso, Dawson City: Frozen Time and more.

A few random facts about me:

Way back in the paleolithic era, when I was a twenty-something, I enrolled in the drama program at the University of Calgary.  I enjoyed acting but found I had neither the  physical symmetry nor the  dogged determinism necessary to withstand a difficult vocation.  After working in the arts in an administrative capacity for several years, I found myself, somewhat erroneously, working in the medical field. There I remained. The vagaries of life take us places we might not expect or anticipate but I do not mind.  I have enjoyed working in the public service.

Throughout my life I have been crazy about movies, my passion for cinema has only intensified as I have gotten older. For several years, I held the position of Programing Chair at Metro Cinema, an art house theatre in Edmonton Alberta. At Metro, I was able to curate a selection of contemporary, experimental and classic movies. This experience enriched and expounded on my knowledge of the breadth and richness of the cinematic universe. As fond as I am of art-house classics, I am equally enamored of commercial cinema and television and other mediums (comics) that are, unfairly characterized as "low-brow".  At age 25, I worked at a comic book store on Whyte Avenue in Edmonton, Comic Castle. Sadly, the store closed eons ago along with all of the independent bookstores in Edmonton.

My interest in cooking began when I was a child and I follow my favourite cookbook authors (Nigella Lawson, Bonnie Stern, Christopher Kimball) with the same ardour that others follow their favourite poets and novelists.  In my thirties, I wrote a series of poems based on the Archie Comic series.   I live in Victoria BC with my husband of 10 years. I am inordinately fond of horses but, alas, we do not have room for one in our condo.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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