I don't really fancy myself a chef, but I've always loved cooking - it just came easier to me than to a lot of my friends. I think part of it may have been that my mom cooked dinner at least five nights a week when I was growing up, though I never specifically learned how to "cook" a certain type of meat from her. I started with baking and transitioned in to stovetop meals around college (I make a killer one-pot mac and cheese. sigh.), and eventually kind of learned to bake chicken and fish etc. My mom used to give me cuts of steak to take back to school when I lived in my apartment, I would just preheat the Foreman and grill them until they looked about right in the middle. Which always resulted in them being overdone.
I still can't cook a steak (that's what men and grills are for, right? right!!??) but I have come leaps and bounds in my cooking. Going paleo was the catalyst I needed to inspire me to take on experiments with texture, flavor, and color. Cooking at home every night is a great excuse to try new things. Some have been great successes (green chicken/flank steak, anything with mushrooms, zucchini noodles with several variations of sauce) and some have been... meh (creamy cumin radish and carrot salad is a fail that comes to mind. so are most chicken thighs.).
When I did my first Whole30 last October, I told myself that if I had to eat this way (this was obviously way before I realized how awesome I would feel on paleo), I was going to make sure each day was really freaking delicious. And I think I did pretty well at that. Well, I ate the crap out of some hardboiled eggs, but besides that. I also learned to eat for fuel though -- not every day is a "hungry" day (as in I am physically hungry but nothing sounds appetizing) and sometimes I just want to mindlessly shovel two fried eggs and a pile of spinach in my mouth and be done with it. But I've also learned that's okay!
I hate when people ask me for recipes though because while I'm happy and eager to share, a recipe is only really a jumping off point for me. I don't remember the last time I used a measuring spoon aside from taking my fish oil. Even the recipes above - they're just a place to start and experiment. I've been forced to get creative (crab cakes using mustard instead of mayo? surprisingly delish!) and learn new skills (YOU CAN MAKE MAYO AT HOME AND IT DOESN'T HAVE SOYBEAN POISON IN IT!!!). It's an imprecise art -- how about how long do I bake the chicken for? IDK, until it looks good? How much cayenne do I add? Proceed with caution, padawan! I always start with one dash and no more. With great power comes great responsibility to not burn your mouth off.
With beets being about the sweetest thing on my menu for the next month, it's another great opportunity to expand my tastes and cooking skills by trying new recipes with new ingredients -- not "paleofying" the same crap I used to eat, but getting real satisfaction from good food that is full of flavor on its own. I was talking to a friend about the (paleo) cream of mushroom soup that I had made, and he said something to the effect of, "I don't want to eat something and think, 'this would be great if it wasn't paleo'." I want my food to be good in and of itself -- I want non-paleo friends to eat it and think "this is good!" not "what's missing?", and I want my paleo friends to eat it and be like, "this way of eating is freaking awesome if I get to eat things like this".
Cooking for other people is probably the best thing I do that's food-related. Sure, I started out by cooking for myself, and that is still the grassroots of what I do. I cook to save money and try to make my lifestyle sustainable -- because if every meal I eat is boring, I'll fall off the bandwagon and end up eating an entire pound of pasta on Friday night and popping 3 metformin and feeling like a train wreck for literal days.
But there's also really awesome satisfaction in sharing what you make with other people -- hey, whatever, maybe it's my feminine instincts kicking in. And moreso than that there is great satisfaction in actually sharing a meal with others, especially people who eat the same way you do -- it's creating a positive feedback loop for yourself. Food is emotional! It is nurturing both physically and mentally and it affects us both physically and mentally. Soliciting feedback is super important to me, too -- I want criticisms and praise, I want to know what worked and what didn't. I want to improve in the kitchen just like I want to improve my snatch and advance at work.
I also want to not have to do dishes. But that's another story.
Baking side note: I decided a while ago that while I am being 100% clean I won't be mean to myself in making cake pops, despite multiple requests from coworkers. Also, it's really freaking hard to do anything with sugar that involves like 4 stages and completely avoid the instict to lick that dab of chocolate off the back of your hand/arm/whatever. However, now that we're over the hump (homestretch!? jeesh), I will be making cake pops in March to celebrate my coworker's pregnancy with appropriate teal or red velvet cake inside. However, they just might be gluten-free (still fighting the good fight!)... :-)
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