Salt, Butter, Love

I don't call clean up part of cooking, and I grudgingly help. In April of last year I moved in with my fiance. She doesn't cook. At the time, I was no expert, myself, but I could make my way around the kitchen. Most of my preparations were one pot, 'bachelor chow' meals that would incorporate pantry raid ingredients and two-year-old spice blends.

Since, however, I have become a somewhat accomplished home cook. I prepare dishes from a diverse blend of ethnic cuisines, and cook whole, fresh foods whenever possible. I'd begun to cook with tofu. Kim's not a vegetarian, though I imagine she'd like to be. I couldn't handle it. Even with the eggs and butter and chicken and pork and pasta and bread and potatoes we eat, my BMI is dead middle for my height.

So, I get the lion's share of the 'bad' stuff. While I've come to realize how little I know about 'gourmet' cooking, I do pride myself on what I have learned about home cooking. Most important, it's about the basics. Learn to prepare food with care, skill, and love, and you'll be a good friend to have.

Another thing; be fearless in the kitchen. You always throw away the first pancake. It's an infallible axiom, deal with it. But if you expected every pancake you make to be perfect, you'd have only ruined one to never try again. You're going to make food people don't like. Hell, you're going to make food you wouldn't even eat.

But one day you'll be called on to make a Christmas turkey dinner for fourteen people. And you'll do it and they will love you for it and you'll be so proud. And so will your baby. I cook every day, sometimes three or four times if it's a baking day.

Breakfast is almost infallibly eggs prepared in a manner; potatoes -- hash browns, gratin-style or home fries, (my specialty;) and a bread. I've been known to make boxty, a traditional Irish pancake -- most recently with a parsnip/potato mash with leeks. I made my first souffle not too long ago.

Something else I'd never even tasted before, but it did get the thumb's up from an experienced palate. I've been known to take picture of the food I cook, and less seldom, jot down the recipe. Truth be told; I don't cook from recipes. I suppose I should -- it would allow me to recreate a good dish or tweak one that just didn't make muster.

There's no way I could show anyone a 'new way' of cooking, or give advice other than what I've gleaned from various sources. I mean, is there anything truly 'new' in the world of cooking, Maybe the technology, but it still does what the old thing did; make food good to eat. Instead, I'll just post pictures and recipes and ways I've found to do things. I may include recipes from my other passion, backpacking. You can read that blog, here: Why Don't We Do It On The Trail,

A proper Child-Care should have a welcoming, friendly and happy atmosphere. Always give importance to your first impressions, like the behaviour of staff to children and the atmosphere they provide to kids. Check their policy thoroughly for information’s like operating hours, sick-child policy, and the refreshments given to children. A good Child-Care will have structured schedules that include physical activity, learning classes, group and individual activities, refreshment time. TV or videos can also be a little part of the curriculum.