Cooking is an Art!

If you would have told me this about five years ago, I would have said something like “maybe for some people, but it definitely isn’t for me!”

Perhaps cooking has always been part of who I am. Afterall, my mom is an amazing cook, incredibly resourceful and creates meals that are nothing less than mouth watering. She has made some of the most delicious meals and she always made it seem so simple.

Truth be told, I used to think of cooking as a bore. A chore – and we all know what chores feel like! Ask any kid and they’ll tell you “I hate chores! if cooking is a chore, I never want to do it!”

As a young adult I can remember getting a little creative in the kitchen. I’d see a recipe I liked and try it. I’d even make little changes here and there – put my own little spin on the food I made. But I never really got excited about cooking. Unless it was baking! I’ve always loved baking.

And then I took a 2 month sabbatical to Europe and everything changed.

• In the Ligurian region of Italy, I had the most amazing mushroom ravioli with walnut sauce. My mouth waters to this day just thinking of it. I actually tried to make it when I got home and it turned out so awful we had to through the entire meal away and order pizza…LOL!
• In France I tasted an absolutely scrumptious brioche, paired with the most adorable tiny cup of espresso. So divine!
• In Germany I fell in love with pretzels as big as your head, homemade beer cheese (OMG! so yummy!!) and sauerkraut. Yes, I actually learned to love sauerkraut and before this, I absolutely detested sauerkraut. But Bavarian Style sauerkraut is so delicious…and warm! They serve it warmed. And beer! I hate beer, but German beer – it’s something else entirely!! It was so good, I drank an entire pint with dinner one night.
• In Vienna I dove right into the delights of Tafelspitz. Who knew boiled beef could taste so good. I’m talking through the roof delicious.
• In Prague I fell head over heals for Vepro Knedlo Zelo (roasted pork with dumplings and pickled cabbage, except my dish was accompanied by a cranberry slaw rather than picked cabbage). Yum!
• In Wales, I stayed with family and had a plethora of delicious meals; lamb chops, jollof rice, homemade tomato soup and so much more.

And when I got home, I wanted to learn how to make all of it! And I have made a lot of it – including the walnut sauce disaster that I’ll never live down. I bought myself a pasta roller, the same one my host in Italy used and I’ve used it to make homemade ravioli, lasagna noodles (yes, I’ve actually made lasagna with homemade noodles!), soup noodles and even ramen noodles. I even used it to roll out fondant once! It was a mess and didn’t work at all. But the experiment was fun!

I suppose I’ve always had a love for cooking, even though I didn’t feel it much as a young adult. But honestly, I think that’s because my mom was miles away during this time of my life and I didn’t have others around me who provided a whole lot of motivation to experiment and get creative.

Now that I’ve given myself permission – honestly I don’t know why I ever thought I needed anyone’s permission – cooking has become an adventure. It now feels as if it’s my own form of art. Something I can take from a mere concept or thought and turn into a delicious eye pleasing delight that can be both devoured and nourish the body – all at the same time. And people actually enjoy it! How about that!!!