Read It and Eat

I must read at the gym. I cannot get through a 45 minute cardio session without my iPod and something to read. I go crazy without both. I think too much about what I'm doing or what else I could be doing and usually sustain a mild panic attack before quitting entirely. So, my gym bag (an old Guggenheim museum bag, natch) is filled with magazines. My standard fare is NY Magazine, Time, and maybe another random I've picked up. I used to only read tabloids at the gym and I decided last year, as a New Year's resolution to stop that. I might as well take the time to read something worthwhile, right?

Ok, so there are occasionally discarded magazines laying around the gym. Its the YMCA so its a fairly bare-bones establishment (the reason I love it, fyi) and the gym doesn't supply us with any sort of reading materials. So all that is ever there is, well, crap. Or inevitably something that would in no way hold my interest for 45 minutes. Like Golf magazine. Snore.

But today I got lucky. As I was walking to the treadmill, passing by the bikes, I noticed a pile of the day's Sunday LA Times (I do not read the LA Times - ever.) which I of course scoffed at. But then I noticed a thicker glossy something sticking out from under that pile. As I looked down I saw that it was Saveur. Now, this is not an out of the ordinary magazine. It has been around from quite some time. But I do always find it interesting to see FOOD magazines at the GYM. Its a bittersweet read as you desperately try to work off all the food you ate in the first place. And I love love love a good food journal. So, I was all over that Saveur.

Anyway, this Saveur was special. What caught my attention at first was that the cover story was Swedish Christmas traditions. Well, I have two very dear Swedish friends and I thought how perfect to have an issue dedicated to their holiday foods! I could make them a delicious dish when the time comes. As I plop down the glossy on my treadmill I notice something completely unexpected. The issue was from 1997.

Yes, it was a 12 year old Saveur. So very odd. But so very something I love. I have magazines saved from the early 90s. I love the nostalgia or the knowledge that I will someday have nostalgia when I find these issues somewhere down the road. The great thing about this particular issue I found was that it was so well-written and stood the test of time. I read an article on Julia Child that was illuminating (must read more) another of Jewish cooking, and another about a woman in San Francisco who has her own cooking school. Oh, and of course the Swedish Christmas article.

A small little find that put a smile on my face, made that 45 minutes on the treadmill fly by and contributed to a satisfying Sunday afternoon. Oh, and did I mention I was listening to Itzak Perlman all the while? Heaven.

*This is NOT the actual cover, but you get the picture.