Mom was an uninspired cook, she tried, but she was never taught how to cook when she was growing up. Mom quickly turned over cooking duties to us girls when we were old enough. We "suffered" through the same rotation of meals each week. When I was 10, I started reading cookbooks. Working within our protein choices and meal plan I started changing things up with different flavors using spices, herbs and sauces. I was able to talk my Dad into changing up vegetable choices. Pretty soon our meals were not just food ingestion, but also an experiment gone right. Dad still asks me to cook special meals for him.
As an adult, I tried out waitressing for about two weeks, I begged to go back into the kitchen and find my niche there. I was given the duties of our huge salad bar and soup from scratch. I still enjoy working in kitchens. I've run the lunch bar in a bakery, helping the bakers as I had the extra time. Had my own catering/cooking/baking company, as a nursing student I worked in the dorm cafeterias, making my own mark there whether I was sweeping floors or helping in food prep.
Now, I am a casual cook on my days off. I cook mostly for myself since Shrek is not eating like he used to. His choices run to foods he does not have to cook. When I cook I end up eating all of it myself over several days. Kinda takes the fun out of it.
