What Julie/Julia Taught Me

Haven’t blogged in a few weeks. I apologize for my absence. This blogging business is still new to me. Hope you enjoy this insightfully random yet not so random post. I promise it is not as long as my previous post.

I’ve just recently watched Julie and Julia. The movie, as the tagline reads, is based on two true stories of two women. Julie Powell, a New York housewife and cubical worker, starts a blog in which she cooks her way through Julia Child’s cookbook, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” 365 days, 524 recipes. The movie, simultaneously, depicts Julia Child’s journey through her cooking career, mostly in Paris, and her efforts to publish this book that started it all.

With just starting a blog my-self, it’s interesting to consider how much blogging can do and what it has done since its “birth” to the internet. With its undeniable popularity, it’s a very modern way of sharing stories, ideas, adventures, advice, and pictures to prove it. It brings people together in the ever-expanding universe that is cyberspace. If you think about it, food brings people together as well. But food, not being as modern, has always brought people together.



My father’s side of the family is as Italian as we can. Food is a big deal in our family. My grandma Mary, who celebrated her 75th this Sunday, is the proud grandparent of eight grandchildren. She is the centerpiece to all family functions. She never fails to fill her house with her warm welcoming love or the sweet aroma of food with family traveling from all corners to be there. With one whiff, the familiar scent fills your senses with anything from meat lasagna, to calamari con pomodoro, to our Christmas Eve traditional Italian Wedding Soup in which my cousins always tease me on the ridiculous amounts of Romano cheese I put in mine Ha-ha. My dad is the youngest of four, so our family is quite numerous. I have several friends who are Italian as well and it just seems that Italians simply pride ourselves on our good food. It’s always fun when we can all cook together. My earliest memories of my life were baking cookies at my grandma’s house. From when we were infants, my grandma’s house was always our halfway house when moving into new places, which we did a lot. Her house will always be like a second home for me.

(My grandma Mary and I after her 75th birthday party!)

On my mother’s side of the family, Ukrainian food is also a tradition. Borsch beat soup and pierogies is our usual New Year’s Day dish. My mother’s father, my grandfather Walter, was an immigrant from Ukraine and fluently spoke nine different languages, including French, which by the way I would love to learn. Watching those scenes portraying Paris, France in the movie made me want to go all the more. I’m quite obsessed with this extravagant city. Unfortunately both my grandfathers died before I was born so I never got that crash course in French from my Pup-pup that I might have enjoyed. My mother’s pronunciation of the language is impeccable though, so she promised once she brushes up with her French, we will learn together. Food, like language, is a distinction to one’s background and is also passed down generations. My grandma Rose is a very free spirited and gentle soul. I feel we have a lot in common and whenever she visits, I can’t stop hugging her. I remember being real little and sitting on her lap playing with her large, Native American, turquoise jewelry necklaces, earrings, and rings. She met my Poppy several years ago and so I feel I now have that grandfather figure I’ve always wished for. I remember when my grandma came to our house one day and taught my sister and I how to make klutski, a polish type of noodle. They are very simple to make and they are real doughy. Yum! My sister loves them and always makes them whenever we have enough flour or eggs in the house. I also remember when I was real little waking up to smell of my mom making platskis. Platskis are paper-thin, crape like pancakes in which we always pile tons of powdery 10x sugar on top. Ha-ha. Those were the most fun and messiest breakfasts. Just like our Italian food, our Ukrainian food is just as diverse and delicious. I tell you, they are a whole lot more difficult to pronounce. Somehow Patychky and Lapshevnik just doesn’t quite roll of your tongue like fettuccini alfredo or fontina y Portobello Panini. Panini is also a fun word to say. Hah! PANINI!


So what’s the movie about and what did I learn from it? Well it’s about changing your life through cooking, through writing, through anything that brings you happiness in life. I learned that it’s true. Blogs are quite narcissistic. At first I thought it was silly that I should even start a blog. I’m no Julie Powell, I don’t have a wedding or baby to blog about their developments, and certainly no celebrity with movie sets I’m jetting off to or fan mail to thank, but as Amy Adams said as Julie Powell in the movie, “I could write a blog…I have thoughts.” It’s a very comical yet truthful statement when you think about it. We all have thoughts and opinions whether we are truly educated in the subject matter or not, no matter what, people always have an opinion about something and are always glad to share it. Positive or negative. Something else that I have learned from the movie is that I realized that I can’t wait to have a kitchen of my own. I love cooking. It’s another form of a creative outlet and in many cases, art itself. Why else would they call it Culinary Arts? So whether it is Italiano, Ukrainian, Polish, or Native American food is universal and brings all families together. Just like my grandmothers, cooking is another way to show that you care for your loved ones.


I know what makes me happy. Everyday there are reminders of what a beautiful world we live in. I wake up each morning with the blessed feeling of living another day. Even in the face of tragedy and despair, there is a light and God is in that light. In that light is the warmth of his hope and love. It’s hard to remember that sometimes when we are wrapped up in our own sorrows. But with what we are aware of in the world today, we should remember to share that same love that we are given. Running through these memories makes me feel so thankful. It allows me to remember the blessings in my life and count them every day. My family, my friends, my music, and God, that’s what keeps me going. So whether it’s a movie that reminds us this or God in the faces around us, share the food and share the love.

OXOX
♥ ,
Katie