More About Tea & (the sad lack of) Cookies

Tea & Cookies is the result of a serendipitous accident. Stuck at home with a long bout of the flu, Tea curled up in her pajamas and read food blog after food blog, quickly becoming hooked. A writer for many years and an avid cook since childhood, it was inevitable that she would eventually tiptoe out onto the internet and add her voice to the passionate chorus.

Why Tea? Tea is a nickname bestowed by my oldest friend. Many of the dearest people in my life call me Tea, including little nieces who charmingly calls me "Ti-ti." Hearing it aways makes me feels as if I am amongst friends.

Why do I blog anonymously? While I have no problem with my blog readers knowing who I am, I’d prefer my clients and other professional colleagues didn’t find my blog. I’m pretty sure none of them need know what I had for dinner last night or how I feel about cabbage these days. This is why you won't find my name listed here. I do, however, link to publications that include my writing. For the insatiably curious or morbidly fixated, I am not hard to find.

UPDATE: seeing as I have a book—yes, a foodish book—being published, that anonymous thing is going to fall by the wayside pretty darn soon. Hey, those of you who have been around from the start can always say you knew me back when...well, back when you didn't know my full name.

Where are the cookies? I’m not much of a baker it is true, and for this I am truly sorry. The name was picked long before I ever thought of starting a food blog. Trying to comment on a friend’s blog, I was forced to claim one of my own (darn Blogger software). Tea & Cookies was the first thing that popped into my mind. Six months later the name was waiting for me—almost sickeningly cute. Had it been planned I would have picked something more accurate—like Tea & Long-Ramblings-About-Farmers’-Markets-and- Meyer-Lemons; hindsight is 20/20.

What are food stories? This site has evolved into what can most closely be called food stories—vignettes and essays about food and everything that surrounds it, often but not always accompanied by recipes.

Sure I'm happy to talk about pie dough, but I'm more curious about where the recipe for blackberry pie came from, who treasured and eventually passed it along, and how a mere taste is able to bring back the smells, sights, and sounds of my childhood in such crystalline detail that my entire young life seems encapsulated in a single spoonful. It is the intersection of food and life that I find most fascinating; food connects to every piece of our life and feeds us in ways that extend far beyond the belly. I'm in love with farmers and artisanal food producers and all the passionate people engaged in the hard and honorable work of keeping us fed and happy.

The photos Early photos are accomplished with a Canon Powershot S2 IS, though I've since upgraded to a Canon XSi. I'm not a professional photographer, more of an enthusiastic amateur. Anything that comes out well is due to natural lighting and sheer good luck—though I've learned a bit as I've gone alone. I also owe a huge debt to the photogenic nature of fresh, farmers' market produce.

Who are you, really? I’m a Bay Area native; a writer since as long as I can remember (journalism, travel, art & culture commentary, outdoors & environmental topics, fiction when I'm feeling frisky); a publishing industry veteran; and I’ve been cooking practically since I could reach the stove.

I’m also defined by the time I’ve spent living in other countries—both Europe and Asia. This has left me with a great appreciation for diversity and the strong belief that there is nothing strange about having soup for breakfast.

Can I email you? But of course! I would love to hear from you, and will respond as promptly as time and my current schedule allows (no promises on speed, but I'll do my best). PR reps looking for product coverage should keep in mind that this isn't really that sort of blog. For everything else, I can be reached at: tea_austen[at]yahoo[dot]com

Thank you for joining me here at Tea & Cookies. Your comments, emails, and sheer presence here makes the adventure all the more enjoyable .

Pull up a kitchen stool and make yourself at home, I'll try to find you a cookie.