I have always loved food and come from a big (and well-fed)
family who grew most of it's own produce and bought fresh
fruit direct from the farmers to can and freeze for the
rest of the year. I remember very busy summers filled with
eating fresh berries and catching garden toads (not to
eat). However, with so many cooks in the kitchen, I grew up
primarily as an observer and consumer rather than as a
creator.
"So what happened?" you may ask. I moved to a rather
isolated European country just as it joined the European
Union and had yet to expand it's culinary horizons both in
the grocery store and the restaurant scene. The
approximately two times per year I happened to find
tortilla chips in the store, I literally pounced and bought
several bags. Now there is a Mexican food section with the
very basic ingredients in every store, although it's still
missing refried beans and tomatillos. I can also now find
very tiny jars of maple syrup, condensed milk and several
different kinds of beans, but still no croutons, creamed
corn, corn meal, corn syrup, jello, pudding, ready-made
mixes of any kind, evaporated milk, buttermilk,
molasses...you get the idea.
I quickly had to decide between figuring out how to make
things myself or living without them. My love of food
eliminated the second option. Things rapidly escalated from
there as I discovered and explored this best kind of
creative outlet--the kind you can eat!
At this point, I've cooked myself into a corner in a way. I
now have very little interest in restaurants unless they
offer a type of food I have little experience with, or
exceptional quality. I know there are a lot of things left
to learn and think it would be interesting to take some
professional classes and learn more about large-scale
cooking. And there's always more to learn about wine and
spirits. Growing up sans alcohol meant starting from the
very beginning, but I'm learning more and more through
travel and experimentation. I love Alsace and very much
enjoyed my trip to South Africa last summer, although their
heavy tannins almost put our taste buds out of commission
for a couple of days after our tasting tour.
I have created a lot of food over the years, and even
remembered to take pictures of it from time to time. After
perusing my pictures you may also appreciate the standing
joke among my friends as to how long one should NOT eat
before coming over.
I plan on adding my favorite recipes too.
Enjoy!
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