Inaugural Post for PopcornVegetable

Welcome to PopcornVegetable, a Gourmet's guide to cooking for families of picky eaters. I'm a former professional line cook and pastry chef who can bake anything, knows good wine and can cook an entire Thanksgiving dinner without recipes. A lot of good it does me, I am in a family of picky eaters. I want to make citrus and rosemary grilled lamb with sweet corn polenta for dinner, but instead I make B.L.Ts.

My husband takes umbrage with this and doesn't think he and the kids are picky. I guess it is subjective. I grew up eating "Gourmet" every day, but he only wants to on special occasions. Fair enough. Sound familiar? All of my friends think I cook all the time because I am always talking about food on Facebook, but in reality I only post around special occasions or if I find a recipe I think my other "former gourmet moms" will like.

The goal of this blog is practical cooking for diverse eating styles. No glossy pictures (the julie/julia project never had them) Nothing celebrity-related (we all love Gwyneth, Jessica Seinfeld and Amanda Hesser, but not for every day planning).

I got the impetus to start this project this morning while reorganizing my magazine cut out recipes, and I realized that I needed to re-categorize them. I only cook "specially" around the holidays, when I have to bring something to someone's house, or when my husband's family is visiting. Another impetus came with a conversation I had with my gourmet cousin whose family is even pickier than mine. She thought that because I was a chef that I cooked like a chef for my family and that made her feel like she was missing out. I adjusted her perception by telling her that I cook the same specific thing for each night of the week like a 1950s housewife. After she picked her jaw up off the floor, I told her I couldn't fight it anymore, I had to stop wishing they would want gourmet dinners, and now I can grocery shop and cook dinner in my sleep. As a semi-freelancing but generally stay at home mom with no help, I'm all about having one less thing to think about.

I hope my guide can help you. I make simple things, they are generally good for you, tend not to have too many allergens, and are somewhat economical. I pray to the food altar of Bethenny, Mark Bittman, Michael Pollan, Anthony Bourdain and Gabrielle Hamilton. I read cookbooks and "food and travel writing" voraciously, I love movies and U2, and when I get a day to myself I try to devise ways to take a day trip to NYC in my allotted time.

Why the name? Popcorn is a vegetable to my son. (I know it is a starch and I know it isn't really a vegetable)

Good night and good luck!