Beginnings of Shrimp & Chorizo Paella
So I have recently come to the realization that I love cooking. I find myself immersed in cooking shows, recipe websites, cookbooks, and my family’s old recipes. The summer time has only encouraged my cooking addiction. Raised in big, extended family where everyone has a garden, I find myself with an abundance of fresh ingredients and a strong compulsion to not let anything go to waste. I am constantly trying to find new and innovative ways to use fresh garden vegetables. But I also resort back to tradition by canning vegetables to use throughout the winter. I am constantly calling home to find out how my Aunt’s and Grandmother’s canned their tomatoes and made their pickles. I remember growing up we canned vegetables so that we would have food to eat during the winter. My family made cornmeal, pickled cucumbers, canned beans, and made fresh jelly. I actually had never had store bought jelly until I was an adult. In guess what, IT DOES TASTE BETTER! There is a difference! I am passionate about not losing this tradition. I try my best to ask my Mother, Aunts, and Grandmother about their recipes and methods so I can pass it on to the little girl that loves standing on the stool next to me rolling her own pasta dough and working in the garden with her Daddy. One example of the challenges, I have encountered, and it seems like a trend in my family, is getting the recipe. I asked my mother for her cornmeal recipes. She said, “You just add some of this and a little of that”. What?! I need amounts! Trial and error.
So here is another thing I learned recently, you can cook good, fresh food from scratch, and it doesn’t take forever. Seriously. I have a 3 year old and a 11 month old. I work 40+ at a extremely stressful, depressing job. I used to stalk up on frozen food and what I would tell my husband, “quick dinners”. I don’t anymore. I plan a menu for the week. The food is fresh. It is better. I don’t spend more then 30 to 45 minutes preparing a meal unless I choose to. I vary my menu with seafood, poultry, pork, and steak. My husband is a country boy but I realized you can make a hardy vegetarian meal that is delicious! These meals don’t have to be boring and they can look great!
My blog is my story of how I love cooking and my food journey. I want to share how I am keeping tradition alive. I want to share the new techniques and recipes I have learned to make fresh, gourmet cuisine for my family on a busy weeknight. These vittles are my successes and my failures. I am a new foodie and I am learning. I welcome discussion and fresh ideas and tips to try. I hope you join on my journey. Bon apetit!
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