Inaugural Post - Starting Up and Setting Goals

Welcome!

Picture credit:  Rancho Buena Vista Adobe in Vista, California

I was attending a dinner and presentation at the Los Angeles Corral of Westerners and visiting with the people at my table.  In the course of the discussion, I revealed that I maintained a food blog, Goode Eates, where I explore historical recipes and cooking techniques.  GT, a member of the Westerners and an interesting person to talk to, brought up an intriguing idea:  Why not give a presentation myself on California food history?  He thought it was a topic that the Corral would like to see.

At first I deferred.  I have a lot on my plate, so to speak, and taking on another project seemed overwhelming.  And this was true for a while.  Then a pandemic hit and, while I was still busy, I had more time to consider the suggestion.  Specifically, I started looking for resources to see if I could do this project at all and if I could find enough to do it well.

Enter ACWB, my friend with an amazing library of California history books.  When I brought up the project idea, he immediately pulled a large stack of books that contained good support as well as background information.  When I included books that I had in my own cookbook library, I realized I had a pathway to success.  

What has resulted is this blog, whose purposes are to help me document what I am learning as I am learning it and to give me the opportunity to then organize that work for a future presentation, if the opportunity presents.  

Please join me as I wander in and out of various eras of California history, learning about the foodstuffs and recipes, the people and cultures, and trying what I can when I can find the ingredients.  Use the organizing tabs under the main heading if you have a specific interest or just peruse the posts in the order they appear.  Leave me comments, suggestions, ideas, or references if you have them.  

So here's to you, GT.  You get the credit and blame for starting this project.  And to you, ACWB, my unending thanks and appreciation for the support, explanations, patience, and the cheerleading.