I *heart* cooking

I love to cook. I always have. Thankfully, my mom is a wonderful cook, and I always loved spending time in the kitchen with her. I would do the same thing when we'd visit my grandparents in CA. There's a reason my sister called her "The Spaghetti Grandma".

Cooking is my release. I love the feeling of a knife slicing through a tomato and the sound of the blade hitting my enormous bamboo cutting board. I especially love that feeling when my knives are freshly home from being sharpened. You can't beat the smell of garlic and onion hitting a hot pan of olive oil, and the slow gurgle of marinara sauce bubbling away on the stove. The scents fill the house, tantalizing your taste buds from every corner. And then, when you finally sit down to eat your creation, the sense of accomplishment is overwhelming.

For example, tonight I attempted to make pot stickers for the first time. It was a DDD recipe, and I was kind of nervous because it was a scaled down version from the restaurant measurements, so I wasn't sure how they would turn out. I got to use my mini food processor, which I love, and the scent of garlic, ginger, and cilantro soon emanated from my kitchen. I also made the dough using my KitchenAid mixer, which I use every chance I get! Then I successfully fried the bottoms and then steamed them through. They were great, especially with the dipping sauce I made!

I like to cook on Saturdays because I have more time to tackle new recipes. During the week and on Sundays, there's just too much going on, mainly due to homework (and especially at this time of year!), so I try to reserve Saturdays for new recipes :-) It helps to keep me grounded, and I get to try yummy new food!

That being said, I hate baking. Ok, maybe "hate" is too strong of a word. More accurately, I'm horrible at it. Nothing I make, besides chocolate chip cookies and brownies, comes out well. Especially cakes. Oh, my cakes are awful. Baking also seems tedious to me, with all the measuring and the measuring and the measuring. When I cook, I just throw things in and don't really measure at all. I've gotten pretty good at knowing what a couple tablespoons, cups, or teaspoons looks like. My sister is a phenomenal baker and goodie-maker though, so between the two of us, we rock the kitchen.

I'm seriously considering attending culinary school after my PhD. I just love it and everything to do with it (including grocery shopping; I could spend HOURS wandering around a good grocery store).

-L