Hello,
Where to start...I love food. I love buying, preparing, cooking and sharing food. I'm contantly surprised how much there is to know in learning and implementing new recipes, finding out a new fruit, veg, or cut of meat. Now that that's out of the way, here's me:
I started to be interested in food when I felt a sort of eating-malaise come over me at about age 15. I had taken a few "Home Economics" classes in school and had a blast destroying dishes and making mediocre sauces to the chagrin of my very angry, Welsh teacher. At about the same time, I began to notice that the cafeteria lunches, fast foods, and boxes of fish fingers and the other pre-prepared foods of my daily diet were not cutting it for me anymore.
Something had to be done.
I toyed with the idea of becoming vegetarian in order to remove some of the more unhealthy aspects of my diet. Burgers, steaks *sniffle,* chicken, lamb; all were taken off my menu so that I could focus on making healthier dishes. My idea was to restrict what I could eat so that my culinary skills would be forced flourish. I began learning about fish, legumes, soy. All could be used in different ways; ways that I was intent on learning.
Looking back, I am glad to have forced myself through that time. It was fun trying to make sushi the first couple of times; fun trying new sauces to make the soy to not taste like...well, er..soy; great learning that rice and beans can be as filling and tasty as any spicy curry; great making soups that had my roommates in college convinced that they were eating meat. I learned alot from those days.
Frankly, I'm surprised I haven't been a member here since day one. Nice to meet you all.
Where to start...I love food. I love buying, preparing, cooking and sharing food. I'm contantly surprised how much there is to know in learning and implementing new recipes, finding out a new fruit, veg, or cut of meat. Now that that's out of the way, here's me:
I started to be interested in food when I felt a sort of eating-malaise come over me at about age 15. I had taken a few "Home Economics" classes in school and had a blast destroying dishes and making mediocre sauces to the chagrin of my very angry, Welsh teacher. At about the same time, I began to notice that the cafeteria lunches, fast foods, and boxes of fish fingers and the other pre-prepared foods of my daily diet were not cutting it for me anymore.
Something had to be done.
I toyed with the idea of becoming vegetarian in order to remove some of the more unhealthy aspects of my diet. Burgers, steaks *sniffle,* chicken, lamb; all were taken off my menu so that I could focus on making healthier dishes. My idea was to restrict what I could eat so that my culinary skills would be forced flourish. I began learning about fish, legumes, soy. All could be used in different ways; ways that I was intent on learning.
Looking back, I am glad to have forced myself through that time. It was fun trying to make sushi the first couple of times; fun trying new sauces to make the soy to not taste like...well, er..soy; great learning that rice and beans can be as filling and tasty as any spicy curry; great making soups that had my roommates in college convinced that they were eating meat. I learned alot from those days.
Frankly, I'm surprised I haven't been a member here since day one. Nice to meet you all.