The Food Of Love...

As a vegetarian living with a committed meat eater, who despises onions, and hates vegetables of all sorts, cooking in the Frame household is not easy. Luckily I love cooking, and it's one of the best parts of my daily routine.
My routine tends to be...
Morning – Writing
Mid-morning - Make a pot of soup for lunch
Afternoon - housewifey stuff, and more writing
Then my darlin' arrives home from work and it's time for dinner, (or teatime as we say in the west of Scotland.)
For me, food is about love. It’s worries me if my darlin' hasn't eaten enough during the day, and I love to make her the best meal I possibly can. Cooking one veggie meal and one meat meal with no vegetables is complicated enough, but since I started a health kick last summer, it has become even more challenging. (Not to mention our fussy poodle, Barney Boy, who insists on fresh chicken a few times a week.)
My meals couldn't be more different than Lou's. My favourite meal of the week is  always salad, and Lou's is curry with all the unhealthy trimmings, so there's always very diverse things cooking in my kitchen most of the time.
Before I met Lou, I had never cooked with meat, the very thought was just yuck! Now I think myself very brave, handling and cooking red meat and chicken like a boss, and that to me is true love. I wouldn't do that that for anyone else in the world, well Barney too. :-) If my darlin' and Barney have enjoyed what I've made, nothing makes me happier.
Now it does go both ways, even though Lou doesn't cook, (we have long established through experience that it's best if she keeps out of my kitchen), she still gets the food and love thing. Since becoming super healthy, she has been really supportive. In the past she would often stop at the shop on the way home from work and bring me chocolates, sweet treats or dessert for after dinner, and now she brings me home fruit, bell peppers, and jalapeños. I've become addicted to jars of jalapeños in my healthy eating campaign. I put them on and in everything, and I use bell peppers in nearly every meal, I can never have enough. So bringing those things means the world to me, and no one in the world would understand how much it means, but Lou.
Food and love often come up in my writing. In Royal Romance, there’s a most romantic moment with a picnic, some strawberries and a ring. ;-)
In Heart Of The Pack, food is very prevalent. The pack mentality of sharing the food between the community, and between individual families is very important and shows love between the mated pairs, but perhaps the heart of the book is about the heroine, Lena Miller, and her dysfunctional relationship with food and bad body image. This was important to me, and I think something that we can all relate to.
In the idyllic haven of Wolfgang County, Lena comes close to nature, understands the importance of eating good, well cared for food, not seeing some foods as bad and letting go of the outside world’s body image demands, and just enjoying the life that nature has provided for us. If only more places in the world were like Wolfgang County.
Courting The Countess also used food in a big way. Annie courted Harry with cakes, biscuits, and delicious home cooked meals, until the countess was putty in her hands. One of my favourite lines in Countess is Harry saying to Annie,
“What? Are you some sort of witch in that kitchen? Making up potions and feeding them to me…I mean us to make us feel things?”
I love that because it’s exactly what Annie was doing. Giving Harry love, and warmth and home through caring for her.
My next book is the sequel to A Royal Romance, Royal Rebel, has it’s own particular use of food. It comes out in May, and I won’t say too much, but there is chocolate, lots of it…and love. Yum! Chocolate and love, two of the best things in the world.
On that sweet note, I'll see you next month!
 
Jenny :-)