A Hobby

I've always loved to cook, well, I should say I have always been interested in cooking... the talent to make dishes taste good was a slow process. As a small child I used to stand in the kitchen watching my mom cook for us. She would get annoyed with me, standing there saying nothing, just taking in what she was doing. As I grew older I would ask questions occasionally, but I mostly remained an observer. I think my mom liked to teach me, she would occasionally just start telling me what she was doing and why she was doing it, I would make mental notes and later attempt things on my own.

When I lived at home our meals were never very adventurous, with a dad who eats almost nothing interesting and sister who refuses to consume anything with even a hint of spice, we had a fairly basic menu most of the time. Chicken Parmesan, Chili, Fish Sticks, Tacos, Salad, Tuna Casserole... you get the idea, your basic mid-western family dinner menu. The difference in our family was that almost all of the ingredients we used were fresh. My mom never bought canned vegetables or boxed mashed potato flakes. We used the basics, of course, canned soups and tuna, etc, but most food was fresh, which made a huge difference in the way I grew to understand and enjoy food.

I will eat, or at least try, almost anything you put in front of me (everyone has their limits, raw brains or anything the bizarre foods guy eats would probably not pass these lips.) I am just starting to get the point, however, that I will also attempt to cook anything I come across.

Cooking is now starting to become a hobby, which I wouldn't have considered it before. I am now constantly on the look out for new interesting recipes to try, new things to attempt. I have had the itch, lately, to try my hand at baking breads (without the aid of a bread maker, which we do not own and most likely never have). Last night we attempted (with our margarita fueled brains in tow) pizza. I had some boxes of Jiffy Pizza Dough Mix, some Mozzarella cheese, diced ham & pineapple... the perfect combination in our minds. Didn't come out as perfectly as we had envisioned. Turns out Jiffy Mix is barely worth the $.98 cents I paid for each box, the crust was chewy and tough and had absolutely no flavor. So, our next endeavor.. homemade pizza... dough and all!

Another new hobby I am starting to love is my slowly growing herb garden, which I would say is really more an offshoot of my cooking hobby. While I love plants, I think if I decide to grow more things they will all be for human consumption... with the exception of some day lilies possibly.

I just found out about twenty minutes ago that we will be moving. In a week. This is good news, our new home will have a front yard with a patio that I can have plants on along with space for a small garden. We will have a free exercise gym that we can use as well as a beautiful area to live.

Bad news... smaller kitchen. Good news... Gas Stove!

Plus, we will be closer to the husband's office, which makes it all even better. :)

I have a few photos of dinners to post... I will do that as soon as I can upload them.