On my love of food.

I love food.

I mean really love food.

Lately a lot of my time is 

spent thinking about grocery lists,

flavor pairings, & new dishes I want to try.

But it wasn't always this way.

When I was little I was one of those

ridiculously picky kids who had to be

bribed to eat much of anything.

I didn't really care for the taste of meat, 

so one day I just stopped eating any of it.

That was 19 years ago.

I know for most kids this wouldn't work.

Thankfully my parents are vegetarians

 & always served both veggie 

& meat options to my brother, sister, and me.

They made sure that I had a healthy diet, 

getting plenty of protein & vitamins.

My dad is a pretty fabulous cook.

The older I got, the more I appreciated

his creative dishes, 

began shedding my picky-eater habits,

and started doing a little cooking of my own.

Fast forward to life in Chicago.

Z& I had a 1 bedroom apartment with a tiny, narrow kitchen.

There was no room for a microwave, 

so we inadvertently joined the slow food movement.

We started eating more fresh food & fewer processed items.

We were forced to think more about what and when we were eating.

When we moved to California

we decided that we would maintain our

microwave-free existence.

I have really grown as a cook, trying new recipes 

& experimenting with lots of ingredients.

I've also discovered the joys of baking, 

making breads, doughs, and sweets from scratch.

We are definitely healthier overall than we were before, 

but we still enjoy some treats.

I mean, homemade fudge brownies & salted caramel

are just too darn good to give up completely.

But, I know exactly what's in them & can

add in an extra workout or two that week!

So...pictures?

Here's some cheese bread that I made recently.

Very tasty, but next time I'm going to make them

into smaller rolls & leave out the cheddar.

 A super simple lunch of spicy capellini &

spinach with a mustard vinaigrette.

I'm still trying to figure out how to overcome

my kitchen lighting issues to 

get better pictures of what's cooking

to share with you all.

I'd love to hear your favorite recipes

or your thoughts on food & cooking!