Chris and I went to see the new movie Julie & Julia. This movie blends two books it to a lovely tale. The two books being Julia Child’s autobiography My Life in France published posthumously and Julie Powell’s book Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen. Julie Powell’s book was taken from her blog The Julie/Julia Project. I haven’t read either book but when you make a movie about food and blogging I am there.
It wasn’t until after the movie that I researched Julia Child’s life. Wow, was she adventurous. She was born in California in 1913. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, she tried joining the U.S. Navy but was turned down due to height. She was too tall at six foot two inches. She did join the Office of Strategic Services and served her country in Europe and China. She was married in 1946. While living in Paris she decided to go to cooking school. Not just any cooking school, Le Cordon Bleu. She and her husband Paul moved around Europe while she worked on her book. When they moved back to the states her cook book was finally published, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
She wasn’t finished after that, but most of us know the story from that point. She inspired generations of home cooks in America. She inspired Julie Powell. Julie Powell was a struggling worker with the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. The movie portrays her as someone who needed direction in life, a project, something to focus her life. She created a blog chronicling her attempt to cook all of the recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She seemed discouraged with life. She worked other temp jobs before her job distributing funds post-9/11. The Julie/Julia Project led her to a very successful blog with thousands of readers. The blog led her to a book deal and the book deal led to a movie deal. Wow, what an adventure that must have been.
Julie Powell is still leaving her adventure. The movie Julie & Julia premiered August 7, 2009. I am sure her life is wild right know. I have read her current blog What Could Happen?. She is just like Julia Child, a real person on the road of life.
I went to see Julie & Julia because it combined two of my favorite thing, food and blogs. Food is so intimate. We all have dear memories of our mother, father, grandmother, aunt, uncle, or best friend cooking something amazing. This amazing dish was shared over great conversation and utter bliss. My husband and I have shared some incredible meals. My mom can cook better than anyone I know. All of my aunts can cook because they were taught by my Gran. My Gran taught me a thing or two. Other than death and taxes there is another certainty. That certainty is food. We have to eat. And if we must eat, we should enjoy.
If you can’t get to the theater to watch Julie & Julia, please find someone you dearly love and enjoy a meal with them. Something with lots of flavor and most importantly lots of butter!