Letters to Harrison 27

Looking back on your foodie adventures I wonder how much of an interest you had taken in learning how to cook these meals yourself? In an interview I watched as you hacksawed through the ribs of a deer to free a back strap, bone and all. Before bird hunting you would stop in and pick up a couple of sandwiches from Folgarelli’s in Traverse city for a snack out in the fields. Then there were the meals served to you in restaurants presenting plate after plate as your mouth filled but your stomach never satisfied.

I don’t particularly care for hunting these days and financially going to a restaurant isn’t the wisest choice. I tend to do these things at home. While I may never become a food critic, I find that learning about different dishes and how they are produced gives a certain satisfaction and appreciation that someone might overlook. The care that goes into a broth for ramen. The types of flour that are considered for noodles. The choice cuts of pork that are seasoned and slowly cooked for the tender chashu presented on top. Even learning how to boil and egg so that the yolk remains running while the white in fully cooked. It is these details that turn a simple dish into a work of art. The type of person that pays attention to these details and learns how to do them well should be paid more than the lowly college student in their dorm slapping an egg on top of their dime store ramen pack.

While I may not drink anymore, a life lesson that I may have learned from you years ago but didn’t appreciate until now, learning the process of making wine gave me a sense of admiration for every glass I had. I know that time is precious and if you can save some by going to the best of a profession, like making food, and pay to have it done for you then perhaps it is money well spent. I shall have to go through your stories of food again, find the little details that had set you apart from other food-based writers and perhaps pick up a trick or two. My time for certain things is coming to a close and I need new destinations on the horizon if I am going to weather this storm called life. While I say that I realize that the last thing the world needs is another food blogger, critic, and/ or junkie but if I try hard enough maybe writing about something that I enjoy will pay off and others can come along for the journey.