about
About Me: Oh hi, I’m Carolyn Cope. You may remember me from such feature presentations as “Practicing Corporate Law: WTF?,” “Dot-Com Days: There’s No ‘Experience’ in ‘Expert,’” and “The Stay-at-Home Witch Project.” A few years ago, I trained in classical culinary technique at the French Culinary Institute in New York, after having graduated from Princeton University and Columbia Law School.
About this Site: Welcome to Umami Girl, where I write a short piece every week about my adventures in food. Most weeks I share recipes, many of them original, and all of them tested and approved by my family and me. Usually you’ll also find a story of one sort or another in the mix.
My Food Philosophy: Thanks to a Mom ahead of her time, I’ve always focused on making fresh, whole foods delicious through thoughtful home cooking. I host a weekly Community Supported Farm drop-off in my garage in Hoboken, NJ, and I’ve felt great joy and relief watching Americans begin to embrace Michael Pollan’s “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants” mentality. However, I cringe a little when the sustainable foods movement starts to feel like a Most Virtuous Competition; and I have a long, proud history of getting my greedy little hand stuck in Pringles cans and dreaming of what it might be like to chug soft ice cream directly from the pump.
Contact Me: Feel free to leave a comment here if you’ve got something to share with the class – I love reading comments and try to respond to them all. Or, if you’d rather, you can email me at umamigirl [at] gmail [dot] com.
Hire Me: I have limited availability for freelance food writing. Send me an email if you’d like to discuss a project.
about umami
Umami means “yummy” or “delicious” in Japanese. Long recognized by observant eaters of both Eastern and Western cuisines, it was officially acknowledged by scientists as the fifth taste (along with sour, sweet, salty and bitter) only in 2002. Much more than just another taste, umami is the reason for culinary gestalt – that little extra something that catapults a food to a deliciousness far greater than the sum of its parts.
To learn more about how to get your fix, check out the Umami Information Center, this article at NPR.org, and this post at the Nourish Network.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
i like your website! it’s very interesting – with beautiful pictures! not that i was expecting anything less given your mom’s photog genes. :P hope you and your family are doing well!
Thanks, Carina!
Carolyn – its nice to see your list of recommended books – I am a huge fan of Alice Waters – I lived around the corner from Chez Panisse for many years -
I’ve known about your blog for a while, but I didn’t know until last night that Waqaas was a mutual friend.
I can relate to your blog name. I’ve always preferred umami to sweet, even as a very little girl. It’s true that, as I write this, I’m about to prepare a recipe from The Essence of Chocolate, by the founders of Scharffen Berger, but, um, this is not at all typical and I’m being paid to do it!
Michele, that’s nuts. I’ve been reading and enjoying your blog for a few months – though I can’t remember how I found you originally – but I had no idea you knew Waqaas. Small world!
I certainly wouldn’t turn up my nose at a nice piece of Scharffen Berger, but as far as the desert island question goes, I’d choose cheese – or a packet of soy sauce from the sushi counter at the supermarket – over it in an instant.
Hey carolyn, i came across google and found your blog. enjoy much reading your post. Beautiful thesis design, hehehe :-)
Carolyn: I just found your site through the Food Blog Alliance. As a former attorney in big law and full-blown Simpsons junkie, I sympathize with your Troy McClure-style documentary, “Practicing Corporate Law: WTF?” Anyway, I am glad to have found you and am looking forward to reading more posts from you.
Came here from Taste Spotting. Love how you write :)
Hi! Great Whole wheat pancake recipe! Thanks!
I thought Oishii was delicious in Japanese? Let know what u think.