Believe it or not, this is a big deal for me.

Blogging about food has helped me in ways I can’t really explain. In a sense, learning about food taught me how to take better care of myself.

When I first started to write, there was a shift as to how I began to see food. It has always been important to me, but I’d yet to have another person to cook for. I was now having to feed myself and my partner.

What started with frozen chicken tenders turned into a monumental discovery of how I now fry chicken from scratch. I go from eating canned veggies to steamed cauliflower and actually enjoy the stuff. I change my life around with a new diet and push back against the illness that may or may not have taken over my life.

More than anything, I’m proud.
I write that with water forming around my eyes. Because it’s true.

I’m proud of myself.

For learning. For not giving up. For expressing how I feel about food through words and narrative.

For learning knife skills and how to butcher a chicken and a whole side of pork.

I thought it’d be nice for y’all to see where I cook. Where I feed myself and others. A few neat little pictures show our kitchen and some pretty things we like.

The things that make our tiny apartment feel like a home.

Enjoy.

Thank you for reading Southern Belly

and being on this journey with me.

And as always,

I’m so glad you’re here.

-josh