I'm Not Another Foodie...

Do you know how many food blogs are out there in the daunting blog universe? I'm going to guess 1,237,028,038. For those of you that started reading my blog a few years ago, you know that it was only random stories about my life. It was never meant to be a food blog. Now it seems as though that is what is.
But, I assure you, I am not another foodie. In fact: did you know I used to be the pickiest eater on the planet? Every year my family would go to Maine and get fresh lobsters on the coast and other culinary delights. I, on the other hand, made them drive me through Burger King to order me a BK broiler PLAIN... which if you don't know is grilled chicken on a bun. No mayo. No lettuce. No tomato. Nothing. Chicken on a bun. Here is a list of some of my OLD food staples:

-Twinkies
-Grilled chicken on a dry bun
-Pancakes
-PB and J sandwiches
-Rice A Roni chicken flavor
-Elios pizza

The list of things I DID not eat was so long it was incredible. Here is probably 1/8 of it:
-no lunch meat
-no lettuce
-no veggies (which means no salad)
-no bacon
-no pickles
-no mustard
-no ranch
-no seasonings
-no foods mixed together
-no seafood


Basically, I was impossible to feed. So what changed?
Here is my "cooking and baking" passion history--

It began in grade 4. It all started when I had to measure for math class in school. 1/2 cup, 1 quart, 1 gallon...etc. and it used to confuse me and I would get so frustrated. If you know me, you know I am paranoid about succeeding in school, so much so that I even practiced for gym class with my dad. So, mom came to the rescue and taught me how to measure by cooking. I fell in love. With cooking. Baking. Reading recipes. Trying recipes. It was the CURE to a picky eater. I now have more cooking magazines than I can keep up with and read the same issues OVER and OVER and OVER again until the pages wear out and I staple them in and tape them up so they look like a disaster. I never see myself parting with them.

Things progressed quickly and I was soon asking for the biggest Kitchen Aid professional stand mixer you could get for my Christmas present in high school. I signed up for Johnson and Wales University career exploration cooking school in Providence, Rhode Island and went and stayed in the city for a weekend and made over 600 lemon meringue pies. I started catering a few small events and drowned in menu planning and grocery lists. I was now obsessed.

When I think about my future, and I am almost ashamed to admit this (like 82% embarrassed), one of the biggest things I look forward to is being able to cook for someone I love and make family meals. I have already dreamed about being the mom that makes the team dinners for the football team my son is on. I also have already thought about birthday party themes and menus for my children. This is all very odd, because I don't even enjoy little kids that much. :o) Praise the Lord I have found a man that will eat anything but squash and cucumbers and has the appetite of a horse and amazing metabolism!!!

But, you see, I still wouldn't call myself a foodie. I am not snobby with my food. I still am fairly picky. However, I eat half the things on that list that before I would cry if they touched my plate. Cooking and baking expands your mind and your taste palette. You become willing to try more things. I think I love cooking so much because it brings people together. All major events in life include food. It makes people smile. It's cathartic. It's always changing. You can make a new recipe everyday and not have repeats. It brings in cultures. It takes you around the world. I remember going to France in 2007 and sitting in a cafe in the middle of the country side (HOURS from Paris) and asking for a fruit tart and orange juice and the lady took an orange off the counter and cut it for my juice!!! Now, that is fresh! I remember being on the island of Maui and picking pineapples off the trees and cutting them open. The pineapples in Hawaii are not acidic. They are just juicy and sweet. I remember being in South Korea and rolling pork into lettuce leaves and dipping it into random sauces- something I would have never dared do growing up. I have tried Mrs. Madzhirski's mousaka. It's incredible.

So, I wanted to give my readers the background to my love for cooking and baking. This blog will never be the big food blog featured in Food Network magazine. It won't be made into a movie like Julie & Julia. In fact, it looks terribly unprofessional and one main reason is that I am not a photographer and my pictures look like a toddler took them. Another reason is because I am not good with website creations and technology. But, it will do two important things: 1. log and track recipes I have tried and 2.share with my family and friends new things to try in their kitchen in hopes to bring smiles to their family and friends.


Bon appetit!