Bad first, I always say. Or perhaps it should be good, then in all your bliss you forget to receive the bad news. But in this case it cannot be helped. The bad news is that I have been super sick, I am home now but did have a short stint at the hospital. I didn't have the heart to photo hospital food for you, to display on my blog. Nope---it just wasn't going to happen. Besides, it would have been hard to get a good angle on canned peaches and chicken broth. When I got home it was smoothies, scrambled eggs and plain toast. Yeah---far from riveting. That was the bad news.

The good news is juicier.

I am going to culinary school here in Seattle; I begin in a few weeks. The humble little school teeters right next to Seattle's own Pike Place Market---the longest standing Farmers Market in Seattle---where we will comb for good eats and fresh seafood, take in the salty air and decide which eggplant... squash ... and tomatoes to buy.

I have wanted such formal schooling for some time, to fill in the culinary gaps in my brain, to have professionals teach me a thing or two, and to round out my ability to play with food of every kind. I look forward to the practice and methodology and a better understanding of all things food---especially since this is where my career/interests/passion/life/stomach is taking me.

My greatest hope is that you will enjoy the ride vicariously. I hope to share tricks and ideas, and my goal will be to pare down (with an uber sharp knife, no doubt) what I have learned, to make it accessible and easy for you/me to try in your own/my own kitchen. I am and will remain queued up to keep food simple, ever determined to find amazing recipes that employ efficiency---a practical nod at harried lives with little to no time, plus kids, work and multi-layered schedules. Don't get me wrong, the labor for amazing food is often worth the effort. But I am a mom, and the best kind of foodie I can be is practical.

So then, although I have been sick and in bed rather than in my kitchen, soon I will be more often in a commercial kitchen learning and writing and cooking and sharing with all of you. Tomato talk will start including chatter from a mom going to cooking school.

Who knew?