I like food, food is good

vintage aprons recently added to my collection of "stuff"

I think I like to cook.  I think I have to cook.  I was never a fast-food person, nor do I have the cashola to go out to eat every night, so I guess there's not much of a choice, but there is a choice when it comes to making whatever your heart desires and additional perks which include: knowing where your food is coming from, the ability to try endless recipes, and knowing what the hell goes in to your plate!

When my husband and I got married in 2006, it was the first time I lived somewhere else and with someone other than my parents.  Preceding the wedding, I had to register for and attend my bridal shower.  At the time, I was a hardcore vegetarian (not extremely hardcore these days, for I’ve allowed poultry into my diet) and my new life mate is a meat and potatoes meat kind of guy.  Pressure cooker's on!  When I registered for my shower (I personally believe you should have one after the wedding) I put things on my list that I've seen in my mom's kitchen:  Pots, pans, meat-pounder-thingy, flatware, dishes, and so on.  In addition to these items, I received several cookbooks ranging from Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meals to more fancy fare French cuisine books.  Okay, now that's great, but what the hell am I supposed to do with this stuff besides cram it into the limited cabinet space we have?  I swear our first year of marriage consisted of Zatarain's Jambalaya (can't even look at the box without gagging now). 

Peppered throughout these past few years, I've experimented with several recipes and found myself rejecting many dinners (especially from Rachel Ray! Damn, that girl loves EVOO, chili, and onions a little too much), but then I’ve managed to come across a few recipes from different sources that became somewhat of a staple.  I started to develop my skills in the kitchen, slowly learned what different kitchen utensils would make my life easier, and before I knew it, my own recipe book started to build and my husband endearingly dubbed me “The Shit”.  Cooking finally has become less of an intimidating challenge and more of a welcomed skill.  Now, if I only had a dishwasher….. 

I've always grown up knowing there's either "Good Cooks" or "Bad Cooks".  I just think a meal might be lacking because there is no love put behind it.  Cooking requires one to follow directions as well as leaving open a huge entryway for creativity.  I vow to share food I love (or even hate) as a part of my wintery winter, springy spring,... blog entries.  xo

In the meantime, my mother recently introduced me to smitten kitchen.  Last night I made the baked potato soup, which was great, for it wasn't even baked and there is absolutely no dairy added!  Last week, I made the surprise hit, mushroom bourguignon. Ohhh I'll take anything with egg noodles! 

Our FAVORITE food find during this most wintery winter, is from ReadyMade Magazine.  The Curried Yellow Split Pea & Carrot Soup is the bomb digs!  The best part is the spicy sour cream dolloped on top!  I've made it twice in one month and a batch lasts us one week.  I cannot speak more highly of it!  Freaking delicious!  I used split green peas instead of yellow, where the only difference would most likely be the color difference as well as doubling the recipe for the spicy sour cream.  This soup paired beautifully with vegetable samosas with chutney!  Enjoy!