the motivation behind the blog

The very first item I ever cooked myself was an egg.  after school, I'd come home, crack an egg in a bowl and microwave it for 45 seconds.  Yes ladies and gentleman... instant sunny side up..or.. if you scramble it then you get scrambled eggs.  Now before you mock me, I was 8 or 9 when I learned to do this and not only did I think this was tasty it also pretty much guaranteed I wouldn't burn the house down.  As I got older, I was able to use the stove, but eggs and rice (with a rice cooker) were pretty much the only things I'd ever learned to cook.

Fast forward 12 years and now I'm in my fourth year in college, living on my own (finally out of the dorms and a meal plan) and suddenly realizing I have no idea how to cook anything!  I had gone out and bought a frying pan and spatula, because that's what mom used at home.  NOW WHAT?

*pick up the phone, call mom*
me: Hi mom!

mom: Hi honey, how are you?  How's school?  Everything okay? (with a slight undertone of.. you usually only call home when you want something or if something's wrong)

me: School's fine, I have a question.

mom: yes..?

me: How do you cook.. well stuff?  What's easy?

mom: Get a paper and pen and write this down.  Easiest is to sautee things...

..and that's how I first learned to cook.  My mom patiently taught me over the phone how to make scrambled egg/turnip dishes, stir fried vegetables, beef noodle soup, chicken soup, egg rolls, dumplings, calzones, cheesecake, and more!  She started taking cooking classes in different types of food - French, Italian, Desserts and would share with me what she learned.

Well fast forward a few more years and I lose my mom to an illness that caught our family by surprise and I stopped cooking.  Cooking at been one of my ties to her, something we shared and I just didn't feel much like cooking anymore.  I was also living on my own, so there was a lack of incentive to just cook for one.  For my family, the amount of food produced was always directly correlated with the number of people present and if we loved those people, it only amplified the amount of food produced.

Another couple of years go by and I slowly start to cook again.  I did so to bring people together, first it started with BBQ's, then hot pot, then more pot lucks.  When I cooked it was to bring people together to feel that love and laughter and most importantly to feel her presence again.  It's taken awhile to really remember why I liked to cook and to feel happy doing it again, but lately I've been feeling inspired.  Especially from reading food blogs and being around people who gather to eat and talk and laugh.  So I decided to start cataloging my adventures in food and hopefully keep my passion for cooking alive.  I may not be some amazing chef, but I cook for family and friends and of course... to eat!

Dear mom, this blog is for you because you loved food, family and friends!