Of Cooking and Loving It
*Preparing one of my specialties, "Embutido" for Christmas dinner*
I once dreamt of becoming a chef. I love to cook, experiment, try something new and different in the kitchen, and divert from common recipes. I love food art and I admire people who find passion in everything they put in the dinner table. Food Network is one of my favorite channels, Iron Chef is one of my favorite shows and I have foodnetwork.com bookmarked in my computers at home and at work. Sometimes when I’m in the kitchen cooking, I’d pretend like I was in my own cooking show.
I must have gotten this from my mom, who happens to be a very good cook. But for the longest time I thought that between me and my sister, I was the one who couldn’t carry out a task in the kitchen. My mom tried to teach us both, but while my sister graduated my mom’s cooking class with high honors, I flunked. Let’s just put it this way—everything my sister touched in the kitchen turned to gold, everything I touched turned to disaster!
One time we prepared dinner for a group of priests and seminarians—my mom assigned me the fried chicken—the easiest of all the menu items. I had a list of ingredients and the exact steps from the marinating to the frying. Well…just imagine how everyone who took a bite at my fried chicken turned red from coughing and choking. It was the saltiest fried chicken ever made and everyone who tasted it described it as “murag tinabal (salted fish)” or “something marinated in a whole sack of salt”. It was a traumatizing experience for me. Until now, I still cannot forget how furious my mom was and how she almost threw the entire platter of chicken in front of me saying “Bantay ka ug dili na nimo hutdon ug kaon ha! (you better eat all of that or else…)”
It was only when I moved to the US that I found cooking to be quite exciting. It started when I was a trainee where I lived in a corporate house with other trainees from the Philippines and China. We would take turns cooking and feeding fellow trainees. Some trainees were very good cooks so when it was my turn to cook, I would try the hardest to impress or at least not embarrass myself. That was how I learned and as time went by, I tried to get better and better at it and loved cooking in the process.
I don’t think I’ll ever be a chef. Going to culinary school is not in my agenda. But if I can turn a simple dinner to a lovely feast for my family, and I can entertain my friends with a sumptuous meal once in a while, then I am happy! For now, I’ll be the executive chef in my own kitchen where I have one big fan—the hubby who I fill almost everyday with good food and lots of love!
*Served for dinner last night - Herb-crusted Mahi-mahi with rice wine sauce*
*Vegetables is good for you, but this one is cooked with a little butter*
15 comments:
Hi Liz. So happy to see a photo of you up close. =)
I love cooking. Before I got hooked to photography, my attention was focused on buying a monthly magazine called Yummy. They have recipes that I follow and still cook until today. That's the reason why I like taking pictures of food. It is my other passion.
Like you, I am happy cooking for my boys and occasionally for friends.
Your mahi mahi looks so tempting. I imagine myself taking a bite.
i admire people who can cook. *bow to you* these are oh so mouth-watering!
i remember enjoying dinner at the corporate apartment kadtong ikaw ang turn mo cook. i secretly wished ikaw pirme mo luto kay murag naa sa resto. murag parehas siguro mi ni charles adto nga mag-una ug lingkod para dili mahutdan.
=)
it was fun to remember those days and nights. na boang gyud ko adtong lord of the rings viewing with angging.
good job liz - lucky charles huh...
i think i can cook - nothing so complicated like yours [i don't do good with wine - the closest i can get is using sweet rice wine]. i seldom get so domesticated in the kitchen because i don't have spare time. i really wish i can do more other than the quick recipe [adobo, adobong sitaw, tinola, fried chicken, and all kind of fried dishes - this are my girls favorite and hub too].
i love the colorful photos liz. it really looks yummy!!!
cuz, i can personally attest to the fact that a meal at your house is a feast of the senses! everything is sure to look good -- and taste superb! charles is very lucky! and us too -- because we get a whole experience each time we come visit. :-)
Thanks Mai! There's nothing like home-cooked meals, right?
I really love your food photos! I always look forward to them.
Aileen--thank you!
Hehe, salamat Chi! I didn't know you liked my cooking. Wa ko ka-remember nga mag-una-una mo ug lingkod ni Charles but ka-remember ko kamo sige hugas, hehe!
And who can forget that Lord of the Rings night?! Lagot jud ko ato--wa ko na-enjoy. We watched the Fellowship of the Ring that night but learned the story of the entire trilogy. Ang result, wa hinuon ko'y nasabtan! Pastilan gyud!
Thank you Dee! I love rice wine! I use a lot of it for cooking--really brings out the aroma of the food! I often use white wine for Pasta too!
Ok ra ang quick meals uy! As long as your family enjoys it, then stick with it. Charles looks for variety so I have to keep trying new recipes. We used to go out a lot and try different restaurants, but now we try to eat at home as much as possible--crisis!
Thanks cuz! We always love having you! Hit and miss sad usahay nang akong cooking uy! It's funny 'coz when we have people around, it's always a miss. But if it's just me and Charles, it's always a hit! I keep saying "I wish it turns out like this when we have guests!" Hehe...ma-pressure tingale ko when cooking for other people.
liz, the food looks really yum!!! you certainly know what you're doing from the looks of it. i can cook, but nothing like your fancy cooking. i too, don't stick to recipes. i make up my own, inspired from a recipe photo. if it's got too many ingredients, then i pass it up...
Oh me too! If it's a really long recipe and I see something unfamiliar on the ingredients, then I don't bother.
wow! looks yummy, Liz!
YUM!
Thank you Poy! We share this passion--FOOD, GREAT FOOD!
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