A Year of Blogging: July 25, 2011

July 25 is 'Culinarians Day' . A culinarian is someone who cooks. You don't have to be a chef. Just someone who cooks. Which means it's a day to celebrate all of us who prepare meals. I'm going to go ahead and say that yes, if that preparation is done in the microwave or on the stovetop, it counts. I know a few people who don't actually use their ovens, so I wanted to make sure they were included today. When I was younger, there was a misconception in the family that I could not cook. Cooking did not interest me. Mom usually had the meals prepared ahead of time, and we had to cook them. I was usually too busy doing homework or reading to pay attention, so my family ate a lot of charred meals. When we got old enough, Mom sometimes left it up to us to make dinner one night. When it was my night, everyone knew what we were having- grilled cheese and chicken noodle soup (I didn't like soup, but made it for everyone else). My sister dug out Mom's cookbooks and prepared elaborate meals. She very quickly overtook my skills. If she made dinner, Mom and Dad were delighted. If I made it, there were groans of 'not again!' I didn't mind. They were only stating the truth. I've previously blogged about my Culinary Point of View. I cook because we need to eat to survive. I watch a lot of The Food Network, although I'm not sure why. Most of the things people make don't interest me. For example, if they are using seafood or lamb, I tune out immediately. Anything that requires braising, which takes a while, is also usually off limits. Every once in a while I find inspiration on The Food Network, but even then I usually put my own twist on it. The grilled turkey, swiss, bacon and apple sandwich that has become a favorite was originally a Paula Deen recipe. The original recipe called for a homemade red-pepper mayo. That was too complicated for me. I left it off, and figured if you wanted mayo, you could use Kraft. It has taken quite a while, but the knowledge that I can cook has actually sunk in with my family. I still get teased. Mom was the first to say 'she can cook'. Every now and then, Dad acts surprised that something I made is delicious. Thanks, Dad! And then there's my sister: when I went home for Christmas, 2009; I made Christmas Eve dinner. I made lasagna rolls and a tossed salad. Everyone else willingly dug into the lasagna rolls, but my sister said she would stick with the salad until she saw no one else getting sick. She did eventually eat some of the lasagna, and had to admit it was delicious. I guess little sisters are always little sisters!