Bon Appetit

At the end of September I made myself some goals; one goal was to learn how to cook.  We all of our own way of cooking, however my idea of cooking consists of pre-made foods from the grocery store and of course non-perishable items.  With my busy schedule finding more than an hour during the week to commit to cooking is extremely difficult.  Usually I am too tired and/or spending my evenings staying late at work, doing chores, or trying to squeeze in a workout after work, leaving cooking the last thing I want to do.  Between the amount of time it takes to prepare the food, eat the meal and then do post clean-up, it is no surprise why I am unmotivated to really cook from scratch.

However, another year has gone by and I still have not even tried a "real" cooking recipe.  Pathetic I know.  I want to be inspired and I want to learn, but I am lacking the motivation.  Cooking takes time and unfortunately I have used this as my excuse.  I know there are meals and recipes that can work with shorter time frames but finding those recipes and making myself try them is half the battle.

December is quickly approaching and is the month where I will be turning 25.  I do not feel ready and I feel somewhat behind for my age.  A twenty-five year old corporate women should know how to make some delicious meals and appetizers right?  I don't and it is sad.  Twenty-five is the age where you start to entertain for your friends and you attend house parties.  This is something that I have always been excited for and I do not want to be the hostess that lies about making the food or have to admit that everything served was pre-made.  A hostess is suppose to wine and dine their guests leaving them begging for your recipes right?   Who wants to be the chef that hides the store bought boxes and the packaging from the served food?  Not me. I would rather be the hostess who can talk about where I found the recipe, how I made everything, and any other cooking tips.

December is two months away and I need to get motivated.  It is time for me to put on an apron (which I am going to buy), find my first recipe and begin COOKING.

With cooking and baking comes recipes.  Recipes represent history, tradition and meaning.  Recipes are passed down from generation to generation and swamped amongst friends, and what an amazing tradition.  My holidays are filled with food that my grandparents use to make and unique recipes that my relatives have added over the years. I am finally at the age where I see the value of passing on these traditions and realize I need to get cooking.

With the hard work of one of my aunts, she has collected recipes from all of my relatives to help create a Family Cookbook.  This book will be filled with recipes from my grandparents, my great grandparents, and recipes from my relatives.  I could not be more excited to start making each recipe.

To keep our family tradition, I need to learn our special recipes so I too can make them for my own family one day.  I will have mistakes and errors along the way but that is how you learn.  No more excuses.  Life is too short and now is the time for me to start. 

So I invite you to help me build my own cookbook.  I would love to make recipes that are meaningful to you and inspired you to want to learn how to cook.  Share your thoughts, recipes, and ideas with me, I would love to hear about them. 

What is your favorite recipe?  What food is a tradition for your family to have during the holidays? 

"The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude."  — Julia Child