About me, eh?
I think I was very lucky to grow up with homemade food all along. My family (and I mean extended family) does a lot of cooking and baking. I grew up baking christmas cookies with aunts, cooking with mom and planting and harvesting with grandma in her garden. I think as kids we had no idea what processed food, let alone prepared entrees are. Only a few years ago I realized how unusual that is especially since we are not really country folks. Most of my family lives right in the city.
I always found that cooking and baking is quite a natural part of my daily life. After I moved to Calgary in 2006 and some minor issues in the kitchen I finally got the hang of how to cook in the prairies. It might sound strange but it was quite an adjustment in the culinary sense. There are tons of new products to try out, hard-to-find staples I was used to in Europe and on top of all, the high altitude in Calgary to consider. After living in a small town in Europe I found myself right downtown in Calgary, with access to all the restaurants, bars, delivery services and convenient (junk) food. And believe me I extensively “researched” the culinary world in Calgary. However, I never really got into buying tv dinners, get food delivered or food court lunches.
Cooking really is a passion to me. I like to think of new recipes or put a twist on some old favorites. I like to chop, grate and kneat. Especially after a long day in the office it is like therapy to me. And when olive oil hits the hot pan the world stops spinning.
Here in Calgary, I was struggling a bit with the different brands, types and prices in the supermarket in the beginning. And then there was another challenge I hadn’t even thought of: High altitude and very dry climate. After many desasters, especially while baking, I actually figured it out. It only needed little adjustments to my recipes (liquid, liquid, liquid!) and something I never did before: PRE-HEATING the oven. Small changes, huge difference. And now I am on a roll.
I should mention that you won’t find any recipes with meat (at least not in the foreseeable future) or fish (never ever again!) on this page. I just don’t like it. Spinach too. Yikes!
Ok, what else? I am trying to live a health lifestyle but not a yuppie-sprout-greenish one. I just like to eat good quality, fresh food. Because of that, I also started to grow my own herbs and some veggies. I would love to expand the project but I guess I have to buy a place with a big yard for that. The balcony kind of limits my garden experiments.
I am afraid I am sometimes too adventurous in the kitchen. Not everything I do taste good or looks pretty. But be assured you will only see the highlights here. I will keep the nasty stuff under wraps. I love kitchen gadgets so be prepared to be showered with strange finds and ridiculously expensive things I want to clutter my kitchen a little more.
My favorite chefs include Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay, Tom Collicio and Anthony Bourdain. Not all necessarily because of their cooking or recipes (haven’t had the chance to try it all yet and there is a lot of meat and fish going on in the recipes) but because of their achievements in and out of the kitchen and their attitude towards food.
