There and back again

(The abbreviated version of this entry can be found in the new summary titled Be Untamed.)

You might call this "The Untamed Palate 3.0." About two years ago, I started this blog to explore my interests and experiments in all things food (1.0). I used to lament my inability to produce a quality dessert despite ample success with just about every other culinary pursuit.

One night, while firmly in the throes of baking optimisim, I produced a sweet that changed everything. It was a dark chocolate cookie whose every bite was punctuated by the light burn of cayenne pepper. I called it "caliente."

With my new confidence in tow, I set out to create an entire line of unique cookies with unusual and rich flavor profiles. Success with cookies like strawberry and toasted almond, dark chocolate espresso and orange-ginger led me to begin long-term plans to start my own baking business. This blog started to become more a marketing tool than a forum for culinary expression (2.0). Unfortunately, after several valiant attempts (and a couple near misses), I found myself unable to locate a legally inspected kitchen in which to do some off-hours baking, which forced me to pause my business aspirations (2.d'oh).

In addition to struggling with the business phase of The Untamed Palate, I had also set out on Jan. 1, 2010 to change my diet, lose weight and get into shape. While in the middle of a frustrating, 3-month-long weight loss plateau, I was taken by an insatiable urge to read. I'm ashamed to admit, I hadn't picked up a book in some time, but I felt oddly drawn to non-fiction for the first time in my life.

One of the first books I read was Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. I can count on one hand the events that have changed my life more than this book. A single paragraph cannot do its wealth of information justice, but in it Pollan examines the ways in which we get our food. From industrial agriculture to sustainable farming, the story of the American food supply is both frightening and inspiring. Whether this book changes a person's food-buying behavior or not, no one who reads it will be able to look at any morsel without wondering what path(s) it traveled to reach his or her plate.

After letting this once vibrant blog lie fallow for several months, I've found new inspiration in food that springs not only from my desire for healthiness, but from the superior value and quality of locally-produced ingredients (3.0). In the coming weeks and months I hope to better explain this renaissance while also writing about the lessons learned from my locally-inspired culinary experiments. And I promise, there will be no short supply of stories, photos and recipes.