10 years ago, I barely knew where the kitchen in my apartment was. This was ironic, since I did the new hire training for Serv Safe, which covered how employees should handle and prepare foods. I didn't really like to cook back then, but I loved eating good food. Having to talk about food preparation three times a week, I began to suspect, you can't fully appreciate food until you've tried preparing it. So I started trying..
My strategy was to learn how to make at least one item from each major food categories. I started with stirfrys because they were easy as 1-2-3:- 1. pick a protein (beef, chicken, pork), 2. pick some veggies and 3. pick a sauce and wallah- you've got a meal. I progressed to other food categories, one at a time. For pastas- I mastered a lasagna, for soups- beef stew, for breads- my mom's cornbread recipe, etc. Soon I could actually cook something for any occasion.
My next source of inspiration came from- of all places- the gym. Why is it that the TV channel in gyms is always set to the Food Network? ( I still haven't figure out how being tempted with delicious foods helps with getting in shape). It did get my attention though and the Barefoot Contessa and Giada spurred me to the next level of cooking. I learned about flavoring foods and using in-season produce. This is when I got excited about cooking. Which is exactly around the time I met Food Muse and our first outing together was the San Francisco's Farmer's Market. The Farmer's Market was an all-out showing of how fabulous food is and full of enthusiastic (sometimes slightly famous) kitchen magicians.
When I think back, the game changing item for me was the Heirloom Tomato. I have always been a fan of tomatoes and to find out they come in such variety and color- each with their own flavor was amazing! Inspired- I started sprinkling fresh herbs like basil and oregano on tomatoes, I started roasting tomatoes, I started making my own marinara sauce with the roasted tomatoes. Marinara sauce led to homemade meatballs and minestrone soup and on and on and on...until one day I realized that my cooking actually tasted better than eating out. With that realization, I stopped saying "I can't cook" and started my Kitchen Magician apprenticeship.
What started this blog post was a recent article: What's keeping America out of the kitchen?
28% Can't cook
25% Don't want to clean up mess
21% Don't have enough time
It reminded me of how far I have come in the kitchen. I have been a part of these statistics and I missed out by not getting into the kitchen sooner. I know cooking can be intimidating. I know it takes time. I know you are afraid of ruining food. But America, cooking is a basic life skill, which 28% of us don't possess? Start small and keep building your repertoire. Make learning to cook an adventure and use it to build relationships with others (people love to talk about food). Surely, my passion for food outweighs my skills. But hopefully, my story shows you that even the most unwilling can be converted into a decent ambassador for food.
This was my favorite post from my blog "Adventures in Yumminess" which I have decided to delete. It tracked a year in my life, in which, I really focused on crafting my kitchen skills. However, it also captured a relationship, which I don't really want to memorialize. It served its purpose because the kitchen is now my favorite room and I really do enjoy cooking. If I can become comfortable in the kitchen, anyone can!
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