It’s no secret that I really love to cook. At least… I hope it’s not a secret. Well, if it was a secret, I guess it’s out now.
I learned the fun of cooking from my father. My mother was the primary cook in our family, but her meals (with a few notable exceptions) tended to be fairly utilitarian. They served their purpose, but there wasn’t really any culinary flare to them. (I will give her props for making a masterful corned beef & cabbage, though)
The few meals my father would prepare were things he cooked for the enjoyment of it. He loved experimenting, and his experimentation led to some of the best and worst meals of my childhood. The point, though, was that he was always trying new things. Where my mother was very strict in following recipes to the letter, my dad just let ingredients and spices fly and hoped they turned out right.
I think I’m lucky in that respect, because I have a bit of both. I’m not averse to following recipes when I think I’m better off doing so, or to learn a new meal. I tend, however, to feel my way around seasonings rather than abiding by strict measurements. The times when I tend to have the biggest successes are when I deviate from the path. The risk, of course, is that I might end up fucking everything up.
Recently, a new layer has been added to my culinary adventure: a stand mixer. I know, I know… That probably sounds really damned boring to most of you, but it’s opened up a whole new world of cooking for me that was previously more problem than it was worth. Within days of getting the mixer I’ve found out that it’s now significantly easier for me to make bread than to buy it, and the stuff I’ve been able to make – even on my very first try – has been better than 90% of what comes from a store.
And with this revelation comes the realization that I’ve been neglecting a significant passion in my life on this blog. I’ve filled it with most of my geeky hobbies like gaming and comic books, but I’ve never really posted about food here. And that’s about to change.
There are a ton of food blogs out there, and I’m not intending to compete. Like the rest of this blog my intention is simply to share my thoughts, passions, successes, and failures. Now, though, you get to find out where a fat ass like me likes to eat, and what I like to cook.
I’ve added a “Food” category to the blog, which will be split into “Eating” and “Cooking”. I’m sure you guys can suss out what that all means.
Note: Both images used on this post are of food I’ve cooked. The large slider image on the main page is of a rotisserie pork shoulder I’ve perfected and cook quite frequently. The smaller image on the direct link to the article is of the start of a batch of beef stew I made using beef back ribs as the meat.
