The Journey Begins

I can remember as a boy, my sister and I having daily chores to complete as assigned by our mother. We weren’t paid or given allowance but we, albeit with much fuss, did our chores every day without fail. Feed the dogs, load wood into the wheelbarrow and carry it in from the weathered wood-shed outside in the back yard: my sister had the more “lady-like” chores,  such as washing dishes, and scrubbing toilets. Mom showed us no bias, however when it was our turn to cook dinner. I suppose this was my mother’s way of preparing us for adulthood.

She would relax on the love seat in the living room, reading romance novels and soaking up the heat from the Kerosene heater that sat on the floor of our old house, as I cooked macaroni and hot-dogs for what must have been every Tuesday for 6 weeks in a row. While she escaped into a world of romance and mystery, I escaped into a world of cheese and processed meat. Nonetheless, my love for all things culinary was born.

I can remember fighting my sister for dibs on cooking first every week. Sometimes I would try to cook on her day too.

In those early years, it was my grandma who first recognized how much I loved cooking. I can remember when I would go to her house, I would beg her to teach me how to cook her delicious, savory vegetable stew (which, ironically, was chock full of chuck). Afterwards, we would lay down on the fold out couch in Mommaw’s single wide trailer, and watch Iron Chef or Emeril Lagasse on The Food Network until she got too tired and fell asleep.

Early on, trying to learn to cook was overwhelming. I felt as if cooking is some innate talent, and that I would  never get it right. I can remember going through a stage where I put cinnamon in everything I cooked: burgers, pancakes, grilled chicken. I begged my family to let me cook, every night. My sister finally said to me “Dear lord, please do not put cinnamon in it!”

Everyone’s a critic.

Learning to cook is overwhelming. It’s not easy, but it gets easier. It is a journey.  Not unlike being a parent, or embarking on a new career, or life itself; but it is a lot less intimidating once you are waist deep marinara. A few things are certain, in the world of cooking:

1. It’s not easy, until it is
2. Patience is a virtue (try cooking a stock in a hurry)
3. Salt is your best friend
4. The French have the best sauces
5. You can find inspiration anywhere

You can find inspiration anywhere; on TV, in the movies, in a book or in the sky, in your back yard, or even online. It is my mission and my hope that you may find a little inspiration in these words.