How the G-Free Foodie Got Her Groove Back.

Hey Everybody -

First, let me say thank you to all of you who dropped me emails or messages wondering where I was - it means SO MUCH to have friends, family & G-Free Foodies that care.  In short, I've been moving (Twice!), finishing a divorce, getting my kiddo situated and: wait for it: getting diagnosed with a second autoimmune disease.  Fun stuff!

The amazing crew at G-Free Foodie kept everything rolling while I was rollin' on, and my friends & family kept Sam & I as close to even as possible.  I can't say enough about my support system - thank god for them all.

When I started cooking again, I burned or ruined everything. I mean EVERYTHING. I have an awesome Literary Agent waiting for a cookbook proposal from me, and I really thought there was no way I could write a cookbook, because I would surely burn down my new house.

Time passed, I found cookie sheets small enough to fit in my new-to-me 1960's oven, and figured out that the oven is between 30-35 degrees too hot in the front & 40-50 degrees too hot in the back. I cooked on live TV a couple of times & didn't cuss or drop anything.  I went back to cooking the basics. I had my friends & their kiddos over & threw them all in the pool. I gave tours of my bomb shelter/wine cellar. I did my hair occasionally. I went back to the Italian deli. One of my friends asked me to be his "Wine Sensei" and one of my friends married an incredible man in a wedding on the coast where I got to wear a fedora. Meds, diet & supplements got the autoimmune issues to a manageable level, and I was starting to feel closer to normal - but I felt no inspiration.

And then, my friend Rachel the Gluten Free Mama called because she needed some help - foodie help at that! Lord, I know how to come through with food  in a crisis (I'm Italian, for sobbing out loud) and I'm certain that a big part of the hollow feeling in my chest was because I needed help from others & I wasn't helping anyone. So, I met Rachel in the Bay Area, brownie & pie crust samples in hand. I led her through Oakland on surface streets when she got lost, and my mom & I showed her everything a G-Free Foodie needs to know about the Ferry Building.I went home, exhausted but more awake than I've been in a long, long time.

A week later, I took a 12 year old budding chef on a foodie tour of our town. I'm forever grateful to Chef Ben at the Vineyard Restaurant (if you're never been there, you're missing out -) for letting Seth sear his OWN duck breast & make his own risotto, that kid will never forget it. I took him to his first sushi restaurant & farmer's market too - and had a very serious conversation about Chinese long beans and restaurant marketing. Feeding Seth's mind fed my soul, for sure.

A few other things have happened in recent weeks - Both of the G-Free Foodie staff members told me - separately - how much they love working for me & for G-Free Foodie. I had close friends over for and all-day football/eating fest, I went to the coast to see a close friend and spent two days in a bulky sweater & watched Sam kayak in the ocean, I spent two uninterrupted hours with one of my best friends in a car (because it was work-related, can you beat that?) and started walking again with two people who will tell me, flat out, when I am right, when I'm wrong, and when I'm being a jerk or an idiot. So my Groove called up my Foodie-Mojo, and they moved back home. If you can't find us, look in the bomb shelter - we're down there with the vino, where we belong.

Funny how peace showed up when I stopped trying to force it to appear. We're back on, Foodies. I hope you're hungry.

XO XO XO -

KC