What happens when you’re not a natural in the kitchen?
There are those that are born to cook and others that are…. well lets face it stumble, trip and sometimes fall (or should that be chop, dice & julienne) their way around the kitchen. I admit I am the latter. I am not a natural and well really maybe saying I am completely inept in the kitchen is a little extreme too. But I don’t ‘feel’ natural in the kitchen. Yes I know cooking is primarily based on recipes and being able to add or finesse those recipes to ‘make them your own’. But I also feel it is a matter of confidence. Confidence in yourself and in what your doing and confidence in your experience, maybe which is what I lack?
As I noted in a previous post, I had a slightly unusual childhood and exposure to ‘the kitchen’. I grew up in a series of pubs that my parents owned. Both my mother and father worked the hotel and although my mum did cook for us (she makes a fantastic lamb roast!) it wasn’t every night and we didn’t share afternoons baking cakes or cookies as I know other children did or do. Now I want to mention, I don’t feel I missed out on anything from this experience, I was exposed to some great Chefs and cooks with amazing talents, fantastic accents and some colourful language, all of which I remember fondly. I saw them create amazing meals for a LOT of people, great desserts and of course when school needed some cupcakes or similar for a fete or fundraiser I usually turned up with a tray of 72 custard filled chocolate éclairs, much to the delight of the school. But because it was a commercial kitchen and I could watch during prep time I wasn’t really involved in the cooking or the opportunity to stand by and watch. I also think that I didn’t have an interest in it at that time.
But as I grew older and moved out of home, the need for me to cook became evident. I was in my first share house at 19 and was allocated to be house cook…..hmmm, don’t know if I accepted that on a Friday night out with the girls. But anyway that was the start of my journey of cooking, it started with very simple meals, a few recipes from the CWA recipe book and I was on my way. I have always had to cook for others but primarily, until I married I did a lot of cooking for one. I have been lucky though, I have always seemed to have friends that are good cooks. There is Janina, who is a gourmet through and through – trying new recipes and dishes near constantly. There is Michelle who is always serving up something healthy and tasty. My older sisters, who being a number of years older than me and settling into their family lives while I was still quite young also have some great ‘country’ influenced cooking styles. And of course there is Rachel, my bestie, who is amazing at making almost any dish sound so simple, look so good and of course taste delicious. She is also the one who has probably inspired me the most to ‘get in there and cook’. I was given a cookbook of her own favourite recipes when we relocated to the states a few years ago. Yes it is me that has the ‘original and first’ Eternal Ingredients cookbook. It was not the cookbook we produce now, but still a high quality book that I still have in my kitchen today.
So, I suppose over time I have become more adventurous and a little more daring. Yes I have my favourites that I turn too and they are usually relatively simple but always tasty. But I have been getting a little more confident and that is through a little more time needed in the kitchen due to needing to keep 3 boys happy – as they say the way to a mans’ (or boy’s) heart is through his stomach. So I recently decided to take a chance and create a masterpiece using 2 of my most favourite ingredients – Chocolate and Beetroot. I like to fool myself that they both keep their health benefits – chocolate as an antioxidant and beetroot for its detoxifying properties….. but I think I may be pushing it. Either way my Chocolate & Beetroot Cake tastes delicious and for me, tested a few of my ‘skills’ in the kitchen. I am enjoying becoming a more confident cook and I am enjoying having my children be in the kitchen developing their own skills. So maybe they can be a little more natural in the kitchen.
Happy Cooking
Vicki
