OK, so first thing you need to know is that I am not very chef-ly and I do not even pretend that I am a gourmet. I love food - and there is something magical for me about writing about it. As far as my cooking experience, The first thing I ever cooked was when I was about 5. I wanted to cook something - didn't matter what, so I found some croutons in the cupboard and mixed them with water and stirred them until they became mush. My dad came in and got mad that I wasted all those croutons (because we probably had a stale bag in the cupboard waiting for guests so that we could look like we had fancy salads all the time, but when we did have guests, Mom would probably forget and so the bag was about 15 years old.) He actually made me eat it as a punishment (probably just a taste, and now that I am a mom, I realize that I might have done the same thing to an ungrateful crouton-wasting daughter).
My mom hated cooking with me as a kid - that is actually the way she said it. I think she hated cooking in general but then whenever I tried to help, the first thing I wanted to do was make a change to the recipe - add something to make it different - special. I still do this today. I can't stand following a recipe exactly as written - I always check the box of a prepared dinner to see what they suggest you can throw in with it to make it more interesting. Plus, I hate following directions most of the time. My poor mom. So we didn't have a lot of mother/daughter cooking time.
when I was out on my own for the first time, it was the first time I was in the postion to cook, which I assumed I could not do. I made up a recipe that I called "Kick-ass spaghetti" - sort of a ragout sauce with whatever vegetables I found interesting simmered in jarred spaghetti sauce to make it more, you know - special. My husband, Jim, actually loved it when we were dating. My cooking repitoire grew once I got married. I guess I felt that since I was a wife, I should learn how to make stuff for my husband/family. I would wonder, "can I make an apple pie?" and try it - success! Sort of...and it was fun and interesting!
I learned how to make all my family's famous recipes - most of them casseroles or jello dishes from the midwest and most of them sounding deceptively un-appetizing. Sort of like anti-marketing. Barf-a-roni has always been my favorite (hamburger casserole with rice and soy sauce), pink barf (jello and whipped cream dessert with bananas), Sara Barf (elbow macaroni with tomato soup, corn & hamburger) and dead fish in the snow (candied yams in marshmellows, but the yams turned gray one year, looking like dead fish and the marshmallow - well you know.)
In my 8+ years of marriage and preparing meals, I have cooking down to a definite style and general knowledge. Here's me: I am usually running an hour late (this is before kids, so it's not because of them), frazzled when guests arrive ON TIME - what is up with that?? and usually making something I've never made before. My food tastes are completely ecclectic, so there is a good chance I'll make something that seems interesting to you as well.
Now as you already know, I am a mom of 2 kids and do not have the time to cook the way I used to - leisurly - with a glass of pinot grigio while I stir or chop (but again, when it's a dinner party, this leisurly start always ends frantically when the guests arrive ON TIME). Now it's always balls-to-the-wall dinnertime with a screaming baby, glancing out the window to see if my husband is home yet and trying to deflect the preschooler dancing around in the kitchen full of dangerous stuff.
Oh - let me tell you about my kitchen. It is very european in that it is about 2 square feet. It fits about 1 1/2 people, so if anyone else tries to come in, they are in the way. Counterspace is relegated to one pull-out cutting board and I use every pot and pan and the dishes are piled to the ceiling, which I promise I'll do later. Right, Jim?
Here is my regular audience for Dinner Rush:
Jim: my husband. We are on a budget since we are one-income right now, so he will give me the raised eyebrow if I served anything, say, with gold-leaf or saffron in it. He is happy with plain food - meat, potatoes - nothing pretentious. When he makes plain baked chicken with fried potatoes, it is fabulous. He is great at taking what we have on hand and making something good with it, wheras I like to research, use one or two things we have on hand and make something more interesting, because God forbid that dinner bores me. Anyway, P.S., Jim is actually quite a great cook.
Big C: my oldest daughter, a preschooler. She isn't too picky - she just doesn't like anything I make. The more effort I put into it, the less likely she is to eat it. She always has to take at least one 'no thank you bite'. She randomly likes and dislikes meals, so I never know if she will eat it or if she will just have the forced number of bites we dictate.
Lil C: my baby, just starting solid foods. We'll see what she has to say, once I have time to make something besides the purchase of a jar of *organic* baby food for her.
Myself: Probably the pickiest, but since I'm doing all the meal planning, we don't often serve what I don't like: peas, capers, currants, green olives or anything that is small, round and booger-shaped or colored. Wierd. I never realized that.
Anyway, that is a general, though long synopsis of my credentials (none) and why you should read this blog (for my own validation) and hopefully you may find a recipe of two that you will want to try because, hey, if it works for me, it will probably work for you!
