Its Only 365 Days
217/366: APPLE CRISP
4 AUG 12
First time making an Apple Crisp, and it won't be the last. This was delicious. I'm not really a fan of apple pie because I had so much of it growing up, but I liked this because this seemed like it's less sweet cousin--the crisp. I know I've been posting A LOT of food photos lately, but it's now the halfway point in the year and my goal is to either set up a food website by the years end, or create a cookbook for my friends and family. I'm really trying to step outside the box of the things I'm familiar with and cook things I've never made because that feeling of the unknown definitely excites me in the cooking realm. Also, just found out the group challenge for one of my groups this month is food photography. It's like a sign! I'm excited about that because cuh-leer-lee I like to cook! I will freely admit most of my food shots wouldn't win any awards because mainly I'm really hungry when I take them and have on a little amount of patience to get the shots I need before I devour the dishes (this one was particularly hard because the whole house smelled like cinnamon and apples!).
My cooking background is this. My mother always said she would never have kids who didn't know how to cook, or clean, or do basic survival things on their own, so early on, probably around 11 or 12 she taught both my brother and myself how to cook. Nothing fancy, just a couple of dishes that we could prepare without cutting ourselves or burning down the house. My brother and I sort of took to it like water---my brother moreso. He was soon preparing gourmet dishes at like 14. He had a mind that allowed him to go beyond recipes to the land of creation. That creation stage didn't hit me until I was 18 and in college and SICK of eating dorm food. It was all the same greasy crap that was making me fat (Junior year, went on a major diet/exericse plan, lost 45 pounds---stupid cafe!).
I began to cook more for myself when I was visiting my parents and began to cook new things that I hadn't grown up eating and experimenting with fresh ingredients. The first time I used fresh basil and fresh cilantro in a recipe were earth shattering. The first time I made Focacia bread, there was a rip in the time space continuum.
After college I really did entertain the idea of becoming a chef but I was practically a vegetarian in those days and didn't know how I'd make it through any courses dealing with meat, and now due to the health thing, I can't eat a lot of things, so I am content with being able to create as I please, not have to worry about having to eat red meat (I now eat all meat but red), and just relax and have fun with it.
The other day I was having a conversation with my mother and we were talking about my brother's fiance who does not know how to cook, and I said, she's lucky she found my brother because he loves to cook and is a total foodie but I couldn't marry someone who doesn't know how to cook---its one of the deepest pleasures in life that I hold dear. Probably all of us have had that worst day on earth where everything went wrong but then come home to find a delicious plate of food. That terrible day somehow seemed to vanish beneath the smells of something simmering or wafting from the oven, or the sight of a freshly frosted cake---I can't imagine being denied someone giving me that pleasure or me giving them that pleasure. Food is a connection for me--to things past and present and to one another. In short, I love cooking.
217/366: APPLE CRISP
4 AUG 12
First time making an Apple Crisp, and it won't be the last. This was delicious. I'm not really a fan of apple pie because I had so much of it growing up, but I liked this because this seemed like it's less sweet cousin--the crisp. I know I've been posting A LOT of food photos lately, but it's now the halfway point in the year and my goal is to either set up a food website by the years end, or create a cookbook for my friends and family. I'm really trying to step outside the box of the things I'm familiar with and cook things I've never made because that feeling of the unknown definitely excites me in the cooking realm. Also, just found out the group challenge for one of my groups this month is food photography. It's like a sign! I'm excited about that because cuh-leer-lee I like to cook! I will freely admit most of my food shots wouldn't win any awards because mainly I'm really hungry when I take them and have on a little amount of patience to get the shots I need before I devour the dishes (this one was particularly hard because the whole house smelled like cinnamon and apples!).
My cooking background is this. My mother always said she would never have kids who didn't know how to cook, or clean, or do basic survival things on their own, so early on, probably around 11 or 12 she taught both my brother and myself how to cook. Nothing fancy, just a couple of dishes that we could prepare without cutting ourselves or burning down the house. My brother and I sort of took to it like water---my brother moreso. He was soon preparing gourmet dishes at like 14. He had a mind that allowed him to go beyond recipes to the land of creation. That creation stage didn't hit me until I was 18 and in college and SICK of eating dorm food. It was all the same greasy crap that was making me fat (Junior year, went on a major diet/exericse plan, lost 45 pounds---stupid cafe!).
I began to cook more for myself when I was visiting my parents and began to cook new things that I hadn't grown up eating and experimenting with fresh ingredients. The first time I used fresh basil and fresh cilantro in a recipe were earth shattering. The first time I made Focacia bread, there was a rip in the time space continuum.
After college I really did entertain the idea of becoming a chef but I was practically a vegetarian in those days and didn't know how I'd make it through any courses dealing with meat, and now due to the health thing, I can't eat a lot of things, so I am content with being able to create as I please, not have to worry about having to eat red meat (I now eat all meat but red), and just relax and have fun with it.
The other day I was having a conversation with my mother and we were talking about my brother's fiance who does not know how to cook, and I said, she's lucky she found my brother because he loves to cook and is a total foodie but I couldn't marry someone who doesn't know how to cook---its one of the deepest pleasures in life that I hold dear. Probably all of us have had that worst day on earth where everything went wrong but then come home to find a delicious plate of food. That terrible day somehow seemed to vanish beneath the smells of something simmering or wafting from the oven, or the sight of a freshly frosted cake---I can't imagine being denied someone giving me that pleasure or me giving them that pleasure. Food is a connection for me--to things past and present and to one another. In short, I love cooking.