The Pilgrim's Pots and Pans

It has been planted – the challenge is to make it grow.

The template was changed (we’re still tweaking), a feast, visitors and fireworks too. It’s probably the most lavish way to celebrate a food blog’s first anniversary. But it wasn’t really for the blog. And I’m getting ahead of myself.

My blog genie upgraded WordPress to version 1.5.1.1 and changed the template in the process. While tweaking the blog this morning, she noticed that the archives started in May 2004, exactly a year ago today. It’s actually quite appropriate that it’s her who noticed the anniversary since it was and Bea, college friends both, partner-in-crime and roommate respectively, who got me into food blogging. After months of resistance, I just had to give in to their constant nagging.

After deciding on a separate blog dedicated to food and culture last November, I mentioned its beginnings on my personal blog. One year after the initial post, where does it stand? Still a novice in an ocean of excellent food blogs, not too far from where it was last year. I on the other hand, have walked a good distance.

Working on the food blog has taken me to paths I would not normally tread. If I didn’t have a food blog, I wouldn’t have conversations with market vendors, farmers and just your ordinary person on the street about food we eat everyday and traditions that go with it. The many times I asked about the food from their childhood has launched a lot of meaningful conversations and in effect, given me the privilege of peeking into their hearts. This in turn has led me to work on projects in collaboration with them (more about this soon, when I might have to beg  ).

A year ago, technical papers didn’t scare me. After all, I do environmental policy work and a paper or two a week was ordinary. Today, I am anxious about how I may not be able to do justice to a paper I’m working on. It’s still on ecology but with the vanishing food from our heritage juxtaposed. I realise that if what I write is on the public domain and accessible to everyone, I better take responsibility for the quality of the content – which of course led me to do a lot of research. What I am finding out is just too interesting to keep to myself.

In essence, food blogging has made me understand my culture and heritage better, which I believe can help make me more human.

And then we had a feast and fireworks – but not for the blog. Today, 22 May is the feast of Santa Rita de Cascia, the patroness of our town. St. Rita is known as the patron saint of hopeless cases. I am amused with the thought that if I was asked perhaps two years ago if I would be doing what I do now (foodwise), I would have said it was impossible. And so I find the coincidence interesting, if not meaningful.