My New Culinary Venture

When I was a child, both my mother and grandmother loved to cook. My mother watched Julia Child (The French Chef) faithfully and tried all of her recipes. She instilled a fearlessness in me to try different recipes. Some flop, some are an awesome success.

I would spend a great deal of time around my Italian grandmother. She was "old world". She always made her own pasta, tomato paste, sausage, and other staples in the Italian kitchen. She never followed a written recipe - due to her decades of experience, she worked her recipes by sight, taste and feel. To this day, if I try to recreate her sauces and meatballs in a written recipe, I can only "guesstimate" what the measurements are.

Now that I'm in my sixth decade of life, I have grown to appreciate the importance of fresh ingredients and avoiding as many processed and pre-prepared foods as possible.

For example, I just learned the very reason that rice must ALWAYS be rinsed before cooking: it not only removes any impurities, but many manufacturers add talc (a known carcinogen) to the rice to keep the grains separate in their packages!

As I try new recipes, I will share my success (or flop) with each one. I will try to include a weblink, if possible, and photos when I remember to take them.

We have recently started watching a lot of British cooking and baking shows, so be aware that these recipes are in metric measurements. There are also some differences between American and European products such as "self-rising flour". In the USA, out SR flour includes salt and baking powder. The European version, however, omits the salt which can really affect the end product.

I welcome your comments, especially if you try a recipe that I've posted. If you would like to include a recipe of your own, be sure to give credit (including links) to the original author.

Thanks, everyone!