What is your joy?

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Selkie

Executive Chef
Joined
Aug 20, 2009
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3,794
Location
Arkansas
Although I'm seldom afraid to try most culinary styles, ethnic dishes or challenges, my passion for cooking lays in just a few areas. Two specifically - Asian and baking.

Preparing traditional Asian dishes (Non-Americanized) brings back pleasant and culturally rich memories of living on islands along the Pacific rim in my younger days.

And if you want to see my eyes light up with enthusiasm, let's talk baking! Not just all baking though. I don't do cakes or cookies. I don't know why not, but they don't interest me. (If you see me answering any questions in a thread about cakes, take it with caution! :LOL:) But pies, bread, biscuits and quick breads are, to me, a real joy!!! I will bound out of bed early in the morning just to get some scones in the oven by the time the coffee pot is finished.

I nearly always have a bowl of mixed fresh fruit in the center of my dinning table, but when select pieces begin to turn, they will often end up in some turnover, quick bread or tart.

Dealing with recent health challenges I spend a lot of time at home, and it has effectively destroyed many physical activities I had planned for retirement, so cooking, and more specifically the kind I mentioned above, has allowed me a creative outlet and focused interest that I need to keep from going stir-crazy!!! :ROFLMAO:

What are your specific joys of interest and why?
 
Chocolate is definitely my passion, and I love to bake, so putting those two elements together is ideal for me.
I prefer baking over cooking, any day.
 
My "joy" is fresh Brandywine tomatoes...don't know that there is anything better than slices of that on a warm slice of homemade bread with homemade mayo...and fresh basil.
 
Baking, baking and baking.

I like to cook, but I love to bake. I have figured out why it relaxes me so. Baking is precise, and if I am having a bad day, or feel like my day has been pure chaos, I can bake something and have control over every element. Being in control after a chaotic day calms me.

Perfecting recipes is a passion for me. I love feeding someone something I have made and see their reaction.
 
I love baking bread. Hand kneaded. I rarely have time for it, so I usually buy my bread, but I love doing it when I can.

Where I grew up, the growing season is very short, so we were usually limited to what dad grew in the garden (mostly tomatoes, beans, peas, cucumbers, and squash), most of which we ate raw, or supermarket produce :( so when I moved to areas that had big farmers markets overflowing with beautiful, fresh, flavorful produce, I fell in love with cooking with fresh vegetables. Now I live in a city with a farm store whose produce is often cheaper than the grocery stores, and I get to play even more. My style usually tends more toward Italian inspired, with lots of fresh basil, some garlic and onions, but if I can cook it with fresh ingredients, I love it!
 
I love cooking, but I love reading and getting new cookbooks is tops for me. Learning new techniques and using them to create a dish is, almost, the best thing ever, for me.
 
Selkie mate, the weather here is picking up and my diet will end this week. I love to grill outside, the best time for me is July/August when the salads, veg ect are picked straight out of the garden. The warmth the smell of the grill and the flowers, my friends brother and wife all having fun is just the best. It starts at 13.00 hrs and usually goes on till midnight.
My wife has been visiting her Mum and Dad, I feel sorry for anyone who has to eat on their own.
One of our families best friend was a wonderful woman from Manhattan, we were having dinner in our hotel in Paris on a family holiday, my Dad had noticed a lady eating on her own for the second night, he just got up and asked her to join the family she did she became part of our family:)
 
Bolas, your dad sounds like a man of excellent character and compassion. No doubt he was a very good role model for you.

I too have to get my grill ready and have the propane bottle filled for the season. I have a deck off of the kitchen were I can grill and eat while watching pastured horses, listen to the lowing of nearby grazing cattle, and watch the Cardinals and Blue Jays at my bird feeders.

While I don't have a garden, I do visit the town square on Tuesday and Saturday mornings when local produce farmers bring pickup trucks loaded with all manner of fresh fruits and vegetables. I stroll along the sidewalk and casually chat with each gardener while picking over the best produce that one can get! It beats the supermarket any day, and is generally less expensive.

Good luck with yours.
 
My joy comes from making a meal that my mom made, and having it turn out just like hers. My mom was a simple cook for the most part (by that I don't mean that her dishes were necessarily plain, just not things that would be served in fancy upscale restaurants), but she wasn't afraid to try something new and challenging. She put a lot of work and love into the meals she prepared. I'll never forget the first time I made chop suey and it came out like hers. I can't remember, but I probably jumped up and down in excitement! :cool:
 
My joy is walking through a grocery store in a new town. When I moved to Mexico it took an hour to buy groceries just because I had to walk down every aisle to see what was there. When we went to Hawaii it was important to find a grocery store for me to walk through. Oh well.
 

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