Inaugural post: an outline of my goals

The Prologue 

Working a Speech-Language Pathologist has given my life meaning. My countless experiences of being witness to healing, hope and yes, sometimes tragedy, occupy my life. A career. Something I always wanted. I wanted a career. A title. Something which required my heart to truly be successful. Something requiring years of school and training. Something which required me to be a life-long student of technical knowledge with the artistry of skilled intervention. I got it. And then... I wanted more. I still pour over research articles and occupy my thoughts with other ways to help my patients. But I have a lot of loves. I am a multi-faceted being. I am a wife. I am a friend. I am in need.

I was not a natural born cook. My experiences during adolescence and college left me feeling I would never be successful in the kitchen, relegated to an "ok" baker. I was surrounded by greatness, people who truly loved to share food with others. Various issues in my life held me back. My drive to intellect often makes me look before I leap. Sometimes too much. I often research ideas ad nauseam and then never pursue. I call this "smart people's procrastination". When I began dating my husband, I was intimidated by his friends. They were slightly older and all seemed to have a small repertoire of dishes they knew how to cook. A wonderful female, with whom I am lucky to call a friend, often speaks in "food porn". Delicious combinations of food come out of her mouth. She has a bevy of tricks up her sleeves and understands the chemistry of what's happening in the pan. She inspired me. At the same time I was spending a lot of time with another strong female who snacks on pickles and veggies trays. She inspired me.

When living in Denton, TX and working on my Masters degree, my long distance boyfriend (now husband) came to visit. With the knowledge he was a picky eater with a known love of Italian food, I scoured the internet and found a recipe for Rosemary Butternut Squash Lasagna. I spent alllll day following each step to a tee. It was delicious. Seriously, I love this recipe. Be warned, it's super heavy. This ignited a fire within. I can make delicious food.

When I moved back to Austin, TX in 2011, my lovely friends joked about beginning to take pictures of our cooking/baking affairs. Time was not on my side at the moment and now 2013 is now shortly coming to an end. During the past few years, I added cooking and baking to my list of hobbies. I have a love affair with vegetables, seek interesting food presentations and understand the importance of a well-seasoned dish. Over the past three years, my friends and I have gathered to celebrate life with cooking and baking adventures. Beer pairings. Themed movies. Presentations. I want to discuss these soirées and how to plan these adventures; however, I titled this blog Mellow Cookery. I want to share my how I turned from "please don't give me cookware, I don't cook" to "yes please, I'd like a micro-plane". This is casual fun because 99% of us are casual people who just want to eat some tasty food.

Thank you to Maya for your knowledge of Mediterranean cuisine, huge amounts of cilantro and making me appreciate beer. Thank you to Lauren for teaching me to understand the role of what each ingredient does for a dish and expanding my food book library. Thank you to Kim for taking the reigns of delicious food during our living situation when I was too intimidated. Thank you to Katie for being a boss at making events happen and sharing a love tofu and mustard. Thank you to Keeley and Josh, you showed me you can plant a large garden for sustenance, keep chickens in the city and cook homemade meals everyday. Thank you to Dawn who stated she would like a cookbook of my recipes and techniques for the holidays. Thank you to Adam who supports me with every fiber of his being and genuinely loves making noodles from scratch. Thank you to all my friends and family who have eaten my food. Particularly in frugal financial times, it's all I have to give.

Goals:

1.  Retroactively post on past events I've photographed
2.  Discuss food pairings with beer and incorporating beer into recipes
3.  List of themed events with food pairings and how to plan a themed movie night
4.  Link recipes I've followed and loved
5.  Post general guidelines for preparing food (so important and easy to memorize)
6.  Review book recommendations which have helped me understand food
7.  How to fix recipes which have gone awry
8.  Life. Who knows what might come up?

Thank you for your indulgence in my epoch.

The Mellow Cook