About

This is one young woman’s (mine!) chronicle of the world as she sees it, living in and around the greater Los Angeles area. But what exactly is a Massiel?

Massiel (mah-see-el) noun: an iPod-underwear-bathroom-dancer, professional read-a-lot-er, unemployed journalist, semi-professional put-on-blast-er, future queen of the world, part time lover, full time magical realist; an L.A.-born writer with a love for her city, its food, and its people; an avid soccer fan

Ex. Massiel! Will you get me some ketchup?

The thing with food is that many people don’t really stop to digest (no pun intended) how food manages to work itself into every facet of life. Many just regard food as inconsequential fuel to be consumed on a regular basis for sustenance purposes alone, never realizing how the things we eat can actually tell us a lot about ourselves.

You may have indulged in a pizza last week, but could it not also have been your relapse into the comfort food of your youth? And earlier today, when you discovered that mushrooms and white wine were not only “not that bad” but were downright delicious, perhaps you were also morphing into a more refined version of a former self?

When it comes right down to it, we’d all be more than haughty if we –and more specifically, I – didn’t own up to the fact that quotidian life isn’t consumed by and reflected in the things that we eat.

Thus, while I may commit large chunks of my days to my grander schemes (a.k.a. my thesis on Mexican/Chinese tensions in post-1850 California as reflected in the Spanish-language newspapers of the time), this blog will be a  break from that academic side, and will dive head-first into my life as an eater. Enjoy.

I’m not much of a Twitter person, but feel free to follow me for those rare occasions where I actually log back in: @massielconleche