Passions Humble Beginnings

This blog is about food. Not just the kind of food that fills the belly and keeps you humming to the next belly growl, but the kind of food that makes you sit back and say, "I'm in heaven". Not all my meals result with the reference to heaven, (in fact I've had a few "what the hell was that?" comments) but I strive to cook foods that light the taste buds up and get me excited to know that once again, the magic food-equation of chemistry, love, effort and timing have paid off.

A passion for good food and cooking came later to me. My mother was, and still is, an excellent cook. Warm, wholesome, flavorful food was at our table every evening when I was growing up. Stews, roasts, vegetables of every color, homemade bread, chocolate cake with boiled icing, warm gingerbread with lemon sauce, fresh blueberry cake...were to be taken for granted. I know now the effort it took to get those meals on the table.

Years as a single adult were spent as a pseudo vegetarian. Yogurt, peanut butter, leftover cheese pizza and beer were the few items gracing my fridge shelves. Of course, I ate; randomly shoveling food in without much consideration or appreciation for taste, visual appeal, or the effort to prepare it. It was just beyond me to consider slowing down enough to prepare something I simply did not really appreciate.

I never cooked with any gusto until I dated (still dating him after 21 years of marriage) a self-proclaimed carnivore. Together we cooked. Many of our dates consisted of cooking dishes like curried chicken, rice, and salad. From those humble beginnings I developed a passion to create the best food I could with fresh, real ingredients.

Today I cook foods ranging from the delightfully ordinary, like black eyed peas with prosciutto and kale to the more exotic fare like bouillabaisse and paella. My roots are in the northeast and my husband is from the deep south, meaning we share a love of all foods regional and provincial.

My delight is traveling. Checking out the local farmers market and fish stall are some of my favorite things to do. I'm not particularly interested in fancy restaurants. The heart of a country or region lies in the authentic, simply created, whole foods that define the region and inspire me to bring a bit of my visit back home with me to experiment and savor the essence of that culture.

I will be blogging often about food, wine, funny stories, cooking equipment and travel and welcome your comments and input and I thank you for visiting and sincerely hope that you find inspiration here and come back for a visit soon.