About Me

Growing up I never thought about or even really enjoyed the thought of cooking. My favorite part was licking the bowl when my mom was making a cake! Despite not thinking much of cooking, I remember watching my mom, learning and soaking in her techniques. Now, years later I remember those times of watching her to aid my own cooking. If I can’t remember how to make something or what temperature to set the oven, I recall how I saw her do it in the past or simply call her up. Both my parents and even my husband will tell you that I have notoriously been a picky eater and not adventurous, however, on my journey to learn to cook I am exploring new tastes and cuisines and have become more open and even excited to try things I previously wouldn’t even consider trying.  After a trip with my sister to Italy when I was 18, I swore I would never eat anything that was looking at me. {I ordered pasta that had whole prawns staring at me and had no clue how to eat them} I have since gotten over this fear after learning on a trip to Hong Kong just how to pop them open and eat the deliciousness inside! On that trip, I also ate out of a whole fish that moments before we had picked out {alive} at a fish market. Can’t get any fresher than that! My mom recently told me that she was impressed with what I’ve been able to do with cooking and baking, saying that I am much more adventurous and willing to try cooking things than she would have ever imagined. She said she had no clue where I got that from. I surely learned many fundamentals and techniques from her that if I hadn’t I would have had no clue where to start!

Of course this new found love of cooking, as you well know, can be time consuming if you let it be. I always thought I can’t possibly have time to learn how to try new things or more complex recipes on top of working full-time and having a busy schedule between my husband and I. However, with the stresses of life and work, I’ve realized the importance of finding the time to do what you love to keep yourself together. My husband has always been better at this than me so he encourages me every day to do so, too. He even happily eats things that don’t turn out so well, checks on me when I scream from burning myself, or finds me new recipes and cookbooks to try out. For those of you out there who have full- or part-time jobs or for those whose days are packed with the at-home full-time work of getting kids from place to place and keeping everything together, I’m here to say that you do have plenty of time in those busy schedules to try out recipes and learn to cook. Sure, some recipes are more involved or take more time {save these for the weekends} but for the weeknights there are plenty of recipes that you can make which are packed full of flavor and don’t take all day!

The only real issues I have with trying recipes is finding the right ones that match both our differing flavor profiles. My husband and I do not always share the same taste profiles. I could put balsamic vinegarette on just about anything whereas my husband always has a bottle of hot sauce ready! This did not matter so much when we were in college and eating dining hall food or something we whipped together in the kitchen that was usually basic and as affordable as possible. However, once we graduated and got married, we have since embarked on a flavor journey. We scour cookbooks, cooking sites and blogs, and Pinterest to find recipes that appeal to both our taste buds. Over the last two years, we have wowed our family and friends with our creations and along the way learned a few lessons of what just does not work. While showing you the steps and the ingredients, I will include {hints of ginger} as well to help you all have the most flavorful food to share with your spouse or with all your friends!

In my journey to learn how to cook and in our search for recipes that intrigue both our flavor preferences and are reasonable for weeknights, we have come to realize that ….in the end, sometimes it just comes down to a {hint of ginger}.