Origins

The Jigsaw Mystery has its origins in a winter basement apartment in DC. Feeling lonely and hungry, I started to take small pleasure in shopping for food, reading multiple cookbooks and then feeding myself and friends. I relish stopping by the grocery after work each evening strolling the produce aisle and looking for inspiration for the evening. Who ever thought that brussell sprouts or celery root could provide an evening of entertainment? Well I soon discovered that such fruits of the earth could entertain, sooth and make me happy.

I started by picking one vegetable each day that I had either never eaten before or remember hating as a child. The discovery and rediscovery of new and formerly despised foods (likes slimy brussell sprouts) led to many nights of plunging into cook books combining recipes and creating new Luke recipes. Part of the mystery involves learning as much as possible about the vegetable and different ways to use it. What caught my eye each day? Sometimes it was a weird looking vegetable- celery root, or I was attracted by the color, or other times I just liked the name- e.g. watercress. After discovering the vegetable, I would experiment and make various dishes.

Slowly, the processed evolved and I got a subscription to a local organic food co-op. This provided a completely new culinary mystery. Each week I opened a new box to discover what my canvas was for the week. The process began and I started planning meals and finding ways to use all the food. Fun thing about a co-op is- you have no control over what you get and have to figure out how to use it all.

RESULTS: a culinary adventure where I constantly discover new likes and dislikes and along the way fill my evenings and my belly with self indulgence.