Here's something I like to hear from others. "What dish, event, success or failure (which aren't really failures, just lessons) brought to your life the focus of cooking?"
What made cooking, to you, personally, more than just a way to fuel to allow you to be functional?
For me, I grew up learning to cook from my grandmothers, mostly. two very different women with very different influences and needs for cooking. I was always interested in cooking but, with both parents working, often 2nd shift, most of our meals were convenience foods.
When I grew up, got a job at a nuclear plant, I also was almost gifted a house. a lovely little 2 bedroom Craftsman style house in a marginal part of town. but, it was MINE! at 22 years old, I was a home owner with a job as a Nuclear Power plant operator. My leisure time was often scheduled around Science Fiction conventions.
Like any convention, publicity parties are important. So, at a planning meeting for our convention, I broke the FIRST rule of the Navy. "Never Again Volunteer Yourself" Yeah, OK. I volunteered to make Meatballs for the party. at that time, probably the only thing I could cook from scratch, with passing good taste, what Italian Red Sauce, Sunday Gravy, Ragu. and it wasn't half bad. The meatballs were pretty nice, too.
I made 30 pounds of ground beef into meatballs by hand. oh, plus the sauce from scratch. it was exhausting! what I didn't know then was that they were actually GOOD. I was very pleased with myself for accomplishing the project. More inspirational, though, was the feedback. the fans loved them. I managed to have myself a job for the foreseeable future.
That was the time when I realized that A) I CAN accomplish anything I wanted and B) I was not half bad. From then on, I was always looking for something new to cook. I was 22, single, with a job and a home and I was so pleased with myself.
There was a little Greek Sandwich shop in town. I'm not really sure how Greek they were but, they made this dessert that was pretty but tiny. I had never heard of it, before. It was baklava. I decided I wanted to make it. No one told me it was hard, so I found a recipe and made it. not knowing it was supposed to be difficult. I actually made some, again, a few weeks ago. this time, though, I made my own Phyllo. AMAZINGLY simple! light years better than the frozen. man. I'm going to need to make more, now.
Around the corner from my house was a little bread bakery. For me, bread had always been the Wonder Bread style ad I still like that in it's place. But, they made some amazing bread flavors. I couldn't see, however, that much money for a loaf of bread. so, once again, since no one told me bread was supposed to be hard, I just DID it. and now, I make bread weekly during Baking Season.
Looking back at all of this, I realize that this period in my life was when the kitchen became central to my life. I love it. After marriage, since I was a Stay at home mom, cash was tight and babies aren't cheap. so, most of my cooking back then, was taking cheap stuff and making it good. You learn a lot that way. Now, with the kidlets grown and gone, I revisit the learning I have always done in the kitchen, and now, I can focus on improving technique and marvelous food. I do love it.
Throughout my adult life, the kitchen has been the focus of my life. Cooking, I have found and come to believe, is FAR more than simple nutrition for food, cooking is love. Cooking is your time, talent, even treasure as well as expertise, all wrapped up and offered to those you love, on a plate.
in short, Cooking is a Sacred Endeavour.
What made cooking, to you, personally, more than just a way to fuel to allow you to be functional?
For me, I grew up learning to cook from my grandmothers, mostly. two very different women with very different influences and needs for cooking. I was always interested in cooking but, with both parents working, often 2nd shift, most of our meals were convenience foods.
When I grew up, got a job at a nuclear plant, I also was almost gifted a house. a lovely little 2 bedroom Craftsman style house in a marginal part of town. but, it was MINE! at 22 years old, I was a home owner with a job as a Nuclear Power plant operator. My leisure time was often scheduled around Science Fiction conventions.
Like any convention, publicity parties are important. So, at a planning meeting for our convention, I broke the FIRST rule of the Navy. "Never Again Volunteer Yourself" Yeah, OK. I volunteered to make Meatballs for the party. at that time, probably the only thing I could cook from scratch, with passing good taste, what Italian Red Sauce, Sunday Gravy, Ragu. and it wasn't half bad. The meatballs were pretty nice, too.
I made 30 pounds of ground beef into meatballs by hand. oh, plus the sauce from scratch. it was exhausting! what I didn't know then was that they were actually GOOD. I was very pleased with myself for accomplishing the project. More inspirational, though, was the feedback. the fans loved them. I managed to have myself a job for the foreseeable future.
That was the time when I realized that A) I CAN accomplish anything I wanted and B) I was not half bad. From then on, I was always looking for something new to cook. I was 22, single, with a job and a home and I was so pleased with myself.
There was a little Greek Sandwich shop in town. I'm not really sure how Greek they were but, they made this dessert that was pretty but tiny. I had never heard of it, before. It was baklava. I decided I wanted to make it. No one told me it was hard, so I found a recipe and made it. not knowing it was supposed to be difficult. I actually made some, again, a few weeks ago. this time, though, I made my own Phyllo. AMAZINGLY simple! light years better than the frozen. man. I'm going to need to make more, now.
Around the corner from my house was a little bread bakery. For me, bread had always been the Wonder Bread style ad I still like that in it's place. But, they made some amazing bread flavors. I couldn't see, however, that much money for a loaf of bread. so, once again, since no one told me bread was supposed to be hard, I just DID it. and now, I make bread weekly during Baking Season.
Looking back at all of this, I realize that this period in my life was when the kitchen became central to my life. I love it. After marriage, since I was a Stay at home mom, cash was tight and babies aren't cheap. so, most of my cooking back then, was taking cheap stuff and making it good. You learn a lot that way. Now, with the kidlets grown and gone, I revisit the learning I have always done in the kitchen, and now, I can focus on improving technique and marvelous food. I do love it.
Throughout my adult life, the kitchen has been the focus of my life. Cooking, I have found and come to believe, is FAR more than simple nutrition for food, cooking is love. Cooking is your time, talent, even treasure as well as expertise, all wrapped up and offered to those you love, on a plate.
in short, Cooking is a Sacred Endeavour.
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