Grand Re-opening

OK, so there has been a rather obvious lack of activity on this flog for the past several months. I wish I could claim a great abduction story or something reasonable to explain my absence. A daring escape from the clutches of evil fast food purveyors and thugs employed by the mayonnaise industry.
Alas there is no such tale.
No matter. The flog is back.
The format will be tweaked slightly. Over the next several months WhyMayo? will explore and experiment with all of the food items that most home chefs are too intimidated or lazy to attempt. It seems to me more and more that people know about food, they can't stop talking about the latest episode of Top Chef, but still no one cooks at home. (And none of the floggers in Seattle curse. It is fucking creepy.)

I will try whenever reasonable to include some of the science going on in the foods prepared. Mostly because it is of great interest to me. Who doesn't love AB, right? Mostly though it is my belief that once one understands the basics and all of the things that are happening behinds the scenes, food preparation becomes that much easier. Then, experimentation and elaboration becomes much more fun and feasible. Besides, a basic grasp of chemistry seems almost a prerequisite for cooking these days.

One of the first items to be attempted will be bread. Completely complex in its utter simplicity, just four basic ingredients and endless variations. Great bread is one of those things that typically baffles many home chefs. So much so that it seems rarely attempted anymore.

Perhaps it is a matter of convenience and practicality. Bread is available in most places at reasonable quality and price. Home baked bread certainly must come out of some passion. Perhaps though this is more on point with what this flog will be all about. The seemingly endless march toward convenience. Pre-sliced apples, for fuck's sake!

What should I really expect though from a culture that has a prescription for everything. Why take the time, put forth effort to create something, why search for something about which you are passionate when there is a pill that can make you feel that way about a sofa cushion. I still make happiness from scratch, the old fashioned way (read, liquor).
OK, this post is becoming rather rant like. I should probably stop before I scare off anyone who might actually read this thing in the future. Google ad-sense, Ka-ching!