Food For My Soul

By Megan McCann, Megan's Munchies

Growing up, I occasionally saw Julia Child on PBS as I was flipping through channels. I admit that I never really sat and watched a full episode of her show. Her recipes and cooking are amazing, but she inspired me more with her food for my soul through her inspirational words. From the beginnings of my blog to the recent decision to start a cake business and my future plans, her words have inspired me and pushed me forward towards my dreams.

When I started my blog in 2008, I knew that I wanted to use a tagline that I grew up hearing from my grandfather frequently, Everything in moderation. Julia Childs believed the same, but she believed Everything in moderationincluding moderation. Between the inspirational words of these two amazing people, my tagline and my blog were born, as well as a new passion.

Julia said, Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it. I took her advice and continued to bake, cook, and blog. Over the past 4 years, I have become tremendously interested in it all, and it has led to my cake business. I have no formal training in cake baking or decorating, but I have taught myself through trial and error. As a result, there have been mistakes and mishaps with cake creations, but these words from Julia ring true when those moments arise: One of the secrets, and pleasures, of cooking is to learn to correct something if it goes awry; and one of the lessons is to grin and bear it if it cannot be fixed. I have to admit that being a perfectionist makes it hard to grin and bear it at times, but Julia inspires me to relax and smile even when the cake creations dont turn out exactly as planned and to be proud of how I corrected and problem solved through unexpected cake mishaps.

So this brings me to today, I am 35 years old and feeling pulled in a different direction in my life. I truly thought that by 35, I would be settled and established professionally, but lately I am discovering more about myself and my passions. This quote from Julia describes exactly how I have been feeling lately: Upon reflection, I decided I had three main weaknesses: I was confused (evidenced by a lack of facts, an inability to coordinate my thoughts, and an inability to verbalize my ideas); I had a lack of confidence, which cause me to back down from forcefully stated positions; and I was overly emotional at the expense of careful, 'scientific' though. I was thirty-seven years old and still discovering who I was. That quote has given me more comfort in where I am in my life. I have all these ideas and thoughts of what I want to do with my passions and my ideas that I am discovering on a daily basis. If she was still discovering herself at 37, then I am doing just fine.

One of my newest ideas and dreams is to combine my love for baking with my passion for working with children with Autism. I would love to open a bakery at which children with Autism can come learn to bake, decorate, and interact with customers. At this point, I am not sure where to even start with this idea, but with Julias food for my soul, I am going to march onward toward that dream and fully pursue my passions.

I am a Texan girl who loves to get creative in the kitchen. Food has always been a passion for me, and has turned into a love of blogging as well as cake baking/decorating. The most rewarding part of baking/cooking for me is the joy and pleasure it brings to my family and friends. There is nothing more pleasing to me then to see the smiles that result from my creations in the kitchen.

You can find Megan at her website Megan's Munchies, as well as on Facebook and Twitter.