How do I explain myself. It's like writing my own obituary (which, I hear can be healing for the soul but I'm not quite ready to take that leap).
I am me. I am a daughter, sister, wife, mother and friend. In no particular order, and with that order changing each minute of each day. And there's a few more that I'm sure I've forgotten to mention, but not for lack of love for each person I touch in my life.
I am also a cook. It took me a long time to discover that. A cook. One who LOVES to cook. Like, looks forward to family and friends coming for dinner because it means I can make MORE!! And try something new (although I don't always admit that it's 'new' or it might scare them off).
Mention dinner party and I start to shake, my mind starts to swim and I'm overloaded with ideas. The choices, oh, the choices!!
Doesn't matter if it's a simple lunch for the kids, a family feast or a dinner party for friends. I just LOVE to cook.
Old favorites, new recipes - the strange and the wonderful. I love it all. I tend to lean towards the comfort foods. I'm not particularly fussy about making foods look >just< so. But it has to look good. We feast with the eyes first, the body second. I love the house wrapped in the sweet smell of cakes and cookies, the savory smells of meats (I LOVE meat), the blanket of warmth from sauces and summertime - when we can stoke up the BBQ and fill the carport with smokey goodness to (hopefully) produce a meal that's grilled with greatness and a feast for your eyes!
I am a full-time working wife and mother with a devoted (and thankfully daring) husband and two not-so-daring daughters who light up my life. So, between school, work and daily chores I don't find nearly the time I WANT to cook but still manage to fit it in here and there.
Warning: don't expect a new recipe each week or you're going to be sorry. I try hard, damn hard but it's just NOT going to happen the way it does in movies and on TV. I'm glad for that too, as I think it makes me appreciate what I have, more.
But that. Is for another day. Today, I cook. Or perhaps tomorrow. Or the next day sounds good too!
--The Cook
