Fruition
I get a call from my friend, Betsy, one afternoon last fall saying she had nominated me for an article series by Jennifer Justus in The Tennessean called “Nashville Cooks.” I was overwhelmed with excitement. I have always been thankful for Betsy’s friendship, but what an honor! I couldn’t wait until Pank got home that evening to tell him the news. I love it when he tells me “Way to go Babydoll!” and he certainly did that particular November evening. What in the world should I cook? Well, the first thing I ever remember cooking was beef stew. Wait a minute! The first thing I cooked was Daddy’s birthday cake in my Holly Hobbie oven. Somehow, I didn’t think Tennessean readers would be interested in how to cook with a 100watt light bulb. So, stew it was! The day before Jennifer and her talented photographers came out to the house, I shopped for the meal. I love to food shop! It’s something you have to do, so you might as well enjoy it. My shopping excursion for a dinner party always includes Woodland Wine Merchant, The Turnip Truck, Porter Road Butcher and The Bloomy Rind. This day was no exception. I picked up this huge Delvin Farms tuber at The Turnip Truck. There is an ongoing debate with one of my Facebook buddies whether this is actually a yam or sweet potato. The tag at Turnip Truck said yam, but judging by the color and sweetness I believe it was a tater in deed.
I awoke the morning of the interview with butterflies in my stomach and a grin on my face. Pank and I shared our morning coffee, like we do every morning, and off I began prepping. I snapped this shot in the quiet, calm of my favorite room of the house, my kitchen. Everything was prepared and I was ready to finally come out with what I had been planning for months. Beyond Pank, Emma and the rest of my family, Corbin InThe Dell has become such a great passion of mine. People are professionally driven by many things. Some are driven by power. Some are driven by money. Some are even driven by popularity. The main thing that drives me is making connections. Malcolm Gladwell refers to this type of person as a Connector in his book, The Tipping Point (http://bit.ly/Skrwb6). So, there I sat admiring all of my local finds. I am very lucky to know each and every producer or purveyor of the food that sat on my table that morning! What fun it is to see everything come to fruition! I spent a moment offering up gratitude and welcomed Jennifer and her crew into our home. Pank and Emma looked on with smiles and we all had a ball!
So, here is my very first article in The Tennessean! http://tnne.ws/VKSkjw
