Cooking... one of my many blessings from God

I must have been a Chef in a former life. I enjoy cooking, much more so than any of my friends seem to. I’m not happy unless I’m creating some sort of wonderful meal for my family to sit down and enjoy. Tonight is my Rustic Breads class. Let’s just say that my family is as eager for me to take this class and I am J Now here’s the funny thing, when I’m really into a Scrapbooking project, my culinary skills get sidelined. Last nights dinner was chicken strips and crinkle fries, need I say more? Yes I am laughing as I write this because it is rather funny how I tend to trade one talent for another (my poor familyJ).

I realize that I have been blessed by the Lord by being given a talent that neither my mother nor sisters was given, a blessing for which I give thanks to the Lord every day! I grew up with seeing the women role models in my life (my mother and paternal grandmother) viewing cooking as a necessary daily chore. Cooking was not anything either one of them enjoyed, not in the least! There were moments I’m sure when they reveled in the compliments that a meal or dessert would bring upon them but that was usually during holidays like Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. My mother realized my passion for cooking while I was in college. I loved to cook Italian; it was like a little slice of heaven to me. For reasons unknown to me, my mother always seemed to be afraid to try new things, to try new recipes. Oh my gosh if that woman knows how she has scarred me for life from ever being able to eat fried sliced potatoes and fried hamburger patties. To this day I can’t even touch ground beef, no joke! Ask my family, they’ll tell you that I do not eat ground beef…EVER! I can’t stand the stuff! It’s so funny when I go home to see my parents, I take over the kitchen. I cook and cook and they just gobble it up like there’s no tomorrow J

From my visit with my mother-in-law I found out that she also views cooking as a chore. I think that they just need and appreciative audience, you know… people who enjoy eatting good foodJ why bother to cook an elaborate meal when there’s no one to appreciate all the hard work you’ve gone through?

Kitchen tool, oh how I adore working with quality kitchen tools! My pots and pans are out of this world! I switched over to Calphalon in 2005 and have not regretted the decision. I knew that I wanted something that was anodized. I liked the design of the lids, they way that they fit and how they didn't have a lip that went to the inside of the pot or pan that would trap the condensation from cooking and have it drip into the pot or pan when lifting the lid. I wanted something durable. I had been using Pampered Chef non-stick pans for a while and they wear out in a few short years. My other pots and pans set is Revere Ware with the copper bottom which I’ve had since 1990. Okay, so the other thing is the Handles, they were of major importance too because I wanted metal handles! No plastic knobs here! I wanted a pan/pot that could go from the stove top to the oven. I couldn’t do that with ANY the pots and pans that I had. So now I watch for Calphalon to be on sale, and trust me there’s always a sale on some where J One of my most favorite pieces of cookware has to be my 5 quart Chili Pot, I love this versatile pot! I use it like as a dutch oven…works great all of the time!