Easily Influenced

I admit it: I'm easily influenced - like tofu. Willing to take on the flavors around me. Generally open to new things, especially those that are shiny.

Don't get me wrong. I like comfortable, familiar, cozy, matte-finished, too. And even though I readily take on particular qualities I'm attracted to (or eagerly seek the distraction of, oh, just about anything other than what I'm "supposed" to be doing), I do so today from a position of faith, inner strength and integrity that could only be realized after many years of being tested.


My mom grew up in Virginia. To a small child from Michigan, that was The Deep South. I loved trips to Virginia as a kid and still do. Many of my roots are there. Every visit is like going home.


I always loved my southern cousins' accents and was jealous that I didn't have one. So, like tofu, I picked up the subtle flavor of their speech in my own - just the merest soupçon, or so I thought. They were offended and accused me of making fun. But no! I wanted to be like them! I wanted to taste the spice the soft, lilting, upturned accent promised. And returning home, I'd proudly sport my accent - like others bearing the sunny glow of tanned skin. Of course, my borrowed accent faded, just like their tans, until my next immersion in the rich, flavorful broth of a family visit.

When my mother died, leaving me alone to figure out the world just before I turned 11 (to be fair, I later learned how not-alone I really was), my days seemed flat, bland, a little tasteless at times. And for many years, I just wanted to be absorbed into somebody else's life. This could not be the right recipe, I was sure.

As a cook, I've learned to make every recipe my own. It doesn't always work out, but every trial yields a new lesson. Life is a lot like that.

There's so much possibility with tofu. Each block of the stuff has the same basic elements but the texture can be soft or firm or even extra firm. Which one am I? I'm still figuring that out. Perhaps I'll get a little mashed and sliced and diced and maybe a little crumbly around the edges in the process. But I'll hold to my basic elements. In any event, I'll continue to welcome new seasonings.