A few things to note....

As a kid, I always remember being in the kitchen. I remember my grandma and my mom telling me to "add more pepper" (must be a southern thing) and to "keep stirring". Both of these amazing woman instilled in me a love for cooking and creating so much more than food. They taught me to create something beautiful to look at and tantalizing to taste. Even if ingredients that were not written down were added and forgotten.

One thing I have learned from my mom over the years, is to start with a recipe, and let it take you somewhere. I know baking is all about measuring and following the instructions, which has its own kind of satisfaction- but cooking lends itself to freedom. Substitutions can be made, cottage cheese for ricotta, or ground sunflower seeds for bread crumbs, half and half for cream~ sticking to the recipe is not necessary for something wonderful to be created. Not to make baking sound like a drag, it is its own masterpiece, one of which helps my round figure more than my shapely one. I digress...

One thing I hope I can portray in my endeavor to write about food, is the wonderful adventure it can take you on. Dare to try new things, new flavors, new recipes. Learn to think outside the box, and be ok with it. And above all, remember that cooking is FUN!

As a side note, if you do happen to make something delicious. Write it down. I always forget to write it down and sometimes I can't remember how to re-create it!