Let's review...'Julie & Julia' by Julie Powell

I have an inner fat girl. Her name is "Rachel" and she demands to be fed every couple of hours. Most of my friends have met "Rachel." I doubt they like her very much. She's moody, she's mean...she wants food and she wants it now. Needless to say, my inner fat girl was very excited to discover "Julie & Julia" by Julie Powell, a memoir that chronicles Julie Powell on her quest to cook all of Julia Child's 524 recipes from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in one year. She decides to write a blog about her experience resulting in fame, fortune and a book deal.

Having gotten into cooking a few years ago, I was intrigued by this daunting task. I think the most challenging thing I have attempted (and succeeded at) so far is perfecting the cream/cheese sauces, which require making a roux first. Those damn roux's can be quite tricky. But I have never attempted, say, cooking a chicken liver or hacking into a lobster while it's still alive. Thankfully, Powell has done this for me and I can simply read about the horrific experience and not have to duplicate it.

I wish I had known about Powell's blog while she was in the midst of her project. I would have enjoyed following along. But the book is a very satisfying read. I particularly enjoyed the excerpts from letters written by Paul Child to his brother regarding his wife Julia. As my grandmother would say, "she's such a card."

As, I came to the end of the book last night, I found myself relating to Powell quite a lot. In a way, it's very fitting that I read this book just four days before my 30th birthday. Powell starts the project because she's turning 30 and feels like there's something missing in her life. Her career is non-existent, she's married to her high school sweetheart and lives in (from the sounds of it) a pretty run down apartment in Queens. She's looking for something more, something challenging.

I find myself at a similar crossroads after having been laid off recently from my job as executive editor of a group of weekly newspapers. Ten years ago my goal was to be the owner/publisher of a newspaper. With the changes in the industry, that goal is no longer viable. So, where there used to be a clear path, there is now a vast openness. And I, for the first time in probably 15 years, have no idea what it will be filled with - which is both exciting and terrifying.

So I guess I'm looking for a project similar to Powell's that will make the future clearer. But I know that whatever I find will not involve extracting bone marrow from a cow's limb. My stomach could never handle it. Hat's off to Powell for braving the variety of recipes in "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." "Rachel" loves food but I don't think I could convince her to eat aspic, which is some sort of gelatinous...yucky...well, you get the idea.

Powell's next installment is titled "Cleaving: A story of marriage, meat and obsession." I think I'm going to have to sit this one out. I enjoy visiting the butcher for a nice cut of meat but I don't want to know how it gets from the farm to my table. Poor "Rachel" would never eat again. And then we'd all be in trouble!