When did you realize you were a foodie?

[Claire]

How did I miss this line (isn't there a way to see if you've already responded without going through all the posts?)? I think I've always loved food, exotic and otherwise. I had a sister who hated food, and went through a phase (maybe a month) where I competed with her for attention at the table, but in reality, I've always loved to eat and try different dishes. My parents took us to restaurants from an early age, and sometimes Daddy would order by just pointing at the menu, having no idea what he was ordering. Because of my background, my mom's freinds and my freinds' mothers were often "war brides" -- German, Japanese, Korean, French -- so I grew up with a huge exposure to unusual foods -- be it sukiyaki or rabbit in red wine or snitzels. I liked it all from day one. Or at least liked trying it, even if I didn't like it (I didn't like fish/shellfish as a child, but remember I grew up in almost landlocked areas and much of it was pretty bad in those days). I liked cooking almost from the day I was tall enough to reach the stove. Actually before. Mom always had a big electric skillet, and would put it on the table so I could cook, too!!

 

[pdswife]

I've always loved to eat.
But, I think I realized that I was a "foodie" when
Paul and I started going out to dinner and I started
thinking that I could make a lot of the dishes "better" in some
way. That was only a few years ago.

 

[lindatooo]

As a child I gave my parents fits trying to get me to eat....hated milk...I'd sneak a cube of butter off the dinner table, though, and eat the whole thing!

When I was 12 I baked up a can of those refrigerated cinnamon rolls (the kind in a tube that sort of explode when you smack them on the counter) and my Dad ate every single one with this huge grin on his face! I was hooked on cooking!

He was Italian and everyone adored his lasagne, rissotto, and meat sauce. I remember him "tinting" the pasta with sauce. Watching him turn polenta out of the pan onto a white towel was absolute magic to me!

Mom didn't cook much - stews mostly - but she was a jealous woman.

When I was about 16 I baked my first pie from scratch, it was peach, double crust and it turned out beautifully! I was so proud! I ran next door to tell my neighbor about it - when I returned the pie was gone. Dad said he'd given it to a friend of his who'd come to visit - but I found the pie in the garbage where Mom had put it because she found some crumbs on the counter after I'd cleaned up.

Didn't cook in their kitchen again after that - but retained my love of cooking and when I moved out I taught my roomate how to cook. She and I are still fast friends over 30 years later and she still credits/blames me for her cooking!

I'm blessed with a dh who loves to eat and spoils me shamelessly with gadgets and praise - what is dearer to the cook's heart than a grateful someone on whom to practice?

 

[Paint]

My Dad was a sound recording engineer, so we were always getting invited out to clubs, dinners, cocktail parties etc., by the various 'pop stars' he recorded, so I was eating pretty 'posh' food at a very early age (which was probably a good thing, because my Mum couldn't cook at all and I would have probably starved otherwise LOL!). So...I think I became a foodie at about age 3. I can remember my husband being amazed when we first started dating, because I would confidently go into a fancy restaurant and not only know what all the menu items were, but how to pronounce them too

Paint.

 

[Pam Leavy]

Lindatoo, That is a horrible story! Why did your dad cover for her?

As for being a foodie, My mom loved cooking and experimenting. For me it is nothing unusual.

A funny thing happened a few years ago. My husband worked for a company that had had a good year, so we were invited to a really luxurious Christmas dinner. It was at a hotel in the middle of the country, beautiful dining room. It was a set menu as it often is for a large group. What made it so unusual for me was that I had to explain to the people at my table what they were eating. They did not know.

That's when I realized my knowledge of food was above average. (At least for this group of Dutch people)

What makes this foodie thing so exciting is that I am still learning every day. I never knew what harissa was until a few days ago. Now I am seeing it everywhere.

That is why I love this forum. So much to learn, so much to cook, so little time.

Pam

 

[mish]

Hmmm.

Not really sure what a foodie is...but, cooking is a creative process that inspires me.

Used to do lots of sewing. The "rush" was making somethin' outta nothin'. Buying a few yards of fabric, cutting out a pattern, stitching it all together, & voila a new creation. For a while wanted to be a fashion designer & go into the couterier (sp?) world. Made & sold lots of fashions of my own. Also enjoyed decorating.

I look at recipes in the same way. Get a bunch of ingredients together - & poof I've got a souffle. More a feeling of accomplishment...not so much as the eating part, but the creating part.

 

[Bangbang]

I was thinkin alot about this and realized that Grahm Kerr the Galloping Gourmet inspired me. I was laid up with a crushed leg in the early sixties and thats when I started cookin stuff besides canned,and packaged foods.

 

[Paint]

OMG - I remember the 'Galloping Gourmet' too!!! I must have been only a child though LOL!

Paint.

 

[Pam Leavy]

I loved the Galloping Gourmet! But it is thanks to Floyd that I always have a glass of wine sitting on the cuunter when cooking.

Pam

 

[Ishbel]

My father was an officer in the British Army and we travelled and lived in various places around the globe - which I continued to do after I married.. Singapore, Hong Kong, Greece - then the middle-east and a couple of places in mainland Europe with my husband.

Soooo, trying different foods was necessary (or we didn't eat!) from an early age. I loved Chinese style food, and the spice that the Singaporeans add to some blander Chinese-style dishes...

My mother and grandmothers (on both sides) were excellent home cooks - especially my Dad's mum for baking... I loved to be in her house in the winter on a cold,wet Saturday afternoon - she would suggest baking a cake or biscuits (cookies)... sheer bliss!

Mind you, I've never wanted to cook for a living - although I did assist a friend who ran a gourmet home catering business - but it all became a bit too much when the responsibilities of my job got more and more intense!

 

[Claire]

I did think I wanted to cook for a living at one time, but learned very quickly that I can't take the heat (literally), the pressure, or the hours. So I've learned to be happy to cook for freinds. I was thrilled when yesterday I made a sort of Southeast Asian style soup that I wasn't sure would go over with my brunch group, and a couple of the men scarfed up several bowls of it. I may have to take back all I said about the bland palates of my Midwestern friends!

 

[buckytom]

wow and lol, i forgot about this old thread. i just ran across it looking for old recipes i've posted.

well, what about it all you new people!!!! (new since january of '05, that is)

 

[Jeekinz]

when did you realize you were a foodie?

When I realized I spend more on ingredients and equipment than dirtbikes. LOL

 

[love2"Q"]

when i spend saturday thinking about what to cook on sunday ...

 

[Jeekinz]

when i spend saturday thinking about what to cook on sunday ...

Huh? I'll stay awake in the middle of the night trying to figure out what order a sauce should be done!

 

[JoeV]

I was raised in the '50's and lived in a small house (4 rooms for 7 people) that was on the same property that my paternal grandparents owned and lived on. Going to Grandmas house was always a food experience, albeit ethnic in nature (Slovenian). I remember making sandwiches out of the cracklings left over from rendering the lard after making homemade sausages, and eating jellied pork parts from a bowl in the basement in the winter time. Potica, strudel, homemade donuts were all made at home and at Grandmas, and my 4 brothers and I ate everything put in front of us, regardless of where it came from on the animal. Today, tripe stew is still one of my favorite meals with polenta, and it sends my Irish wife out of the house. LOL

I've really gotten heavily into cooking and baking after our three children were grown and on their own. DW is a good cook, but it's my meals of stuffed cabbages, liver & onions and homemade soups that bring the kids back home. I have just gotten into baking breads in the past couple of months, and since then we have not bought a loaf of bread or hamburger & hot dog buns from the store. DW just loves the NY Times no knead bread, and I make it a couple times a week.

Good food brings back friends time and time again, and it's a sure fire way to make new ones.

Joe

 

[sattie]

As soon as I moved out to live on my own and had to start cooking for myself.... then I realized the possibilities!!!

 

[suziquzie]

I think since I could reach the kitchen counter.
My parents have always cooked and appreciated good food, did not believe in junk or boxed stuff. When I was younger I actually thought I was deprived because everyone else's parents would make them Hamburger Helper! Silly......
Anyway they always let me help cook, I was never picky about eating (ok unless the food touches), and I was allowed to do things on my own when I was ready.
My mom gave me a bunch of my old children's cookbooks last summer so I could use them with my kids.... it was really neat to see in a few I had already made notes on what was good, what to add, how to split or double the recipe. I think I was 8!
Hmmm I think I feel like cooking something now......

 

[Robo410]

I'm told I grabbed the blue cheese and shrimp off my mom's plate when I was 1yo ate it and loved it. I still do. Clams are my earliest food memory as far as "loving them" fired, chowder, sauteed, deviled, you name it.

We cooked as a family, weekends were big prep times Sunday was a roast ... leftovers became a mid week pie or casserole, and Saturday was soup from the bones. I asked what meat I liked best, lamb was the answer (still is).

We followed Julia Child all the way, and any other PBS food person.

I think I've been a foodie all my life...it was part of my upbringing--quality ingredients, correct methods=fine results. Waste nothing, use it all.

 

[expatgirl]

I don't know how I ever evolved into a foodie........my mother did not cook anything that I can remember with fondness........grandma made the best fried chicken ever and fried steak..........and homemade bread...but she never invited us to help..........I guess I got my most inspiration from my mother-in-law who gave me a paper-backed "Betty Crocker" cookbook from 1972 and really inspired me to try out new things and new recipes. She was a great cook and her pies, cakes, and other desserts and Thanksgiving dressing were to die for. We both loved cookbooks........I've inherited a lot of her old ones...........I miss her........she was so patient and she loved having a granddaugter perched on a chair helping her out....she had 4 of them