Charlotte Here
I love to cook. My grandmother taught me to cook. When I was twelve I asked for a mixer for my birthday. I was a baker. Today I use my Grandmother's Avocado Green KitchenAid. It is 30 years old.In my adult life when I experienced the cooking skills (I use that term loosely) of my wife, S, I realized what a gift it was to learn to cook whilst young.
I have an intuition about doneness, where to spend my time, how important a clean bowl is when beating eggwhites. S, on the other hand, spends 10 minutes chopping a carrot, and wants to dip everything in catsup. She doesn't understand how I unconsciously note all the food likes and dislikes of my friends. I know exactly how S likes her toast, exactly how melty she likes her cheese, I sprinkle cilantro on the edge of her plate, next to her catsup.
I am thoughtful about food.
Ok, so here comes the chink in the previous sentiments. I am also now a mom. I have become impatient. I have lost my culinary way. I am lazy and irritable in the kitchen now. I want the food to make itself. I do not relish in the smell of my organic produce anymore. I have forgotten recipes I knew by heart.
I hope this blog helps me find my way. I baked some cakes for my son's 1st birthday 6 months ago (I will post about this later) and remembered how sensual food is. Dusting a pan with cocoa powder, the smell of butter and sugar being whipping, sauces, bleu cheese bubbling on my homemade pizza. YUM!
But folks, I am a busy mom and in search of cooking simple. I am not adverse to using some easy frozen (but still lovely and organic) ingredients, or finding the occasional mac and cheese recipe. And I love mexican food. Real Mexcian food.
My motto is :Simple every day and complicated and fabulous once in a while. And the complicated recipes better be friggin worth it...
(I'm stealing these questions from Sacha)
What are my values as a cook? Simple. Organic. Colorful.
What is my secret passion? Super fancy cakes. Authentic Mexican/Precolumbian food.
Inspirations? This blog. My Grandmother.
What do I bring to Culinarian? Honesty. Toddler recipes.
posted by charlotte @ 2:11 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Awesome!
I know what it means to just KNOW when something is done. I don't REALLY need to time my cookies anymore. I can smell then they're done. I know when the bechamel sauce is just right. It's cooking intuition. And it IS a gift our loved ones gave us.
And I note my friends' likes and dislikes. I know which one will flip for chocolate and hates key lime. I know who will want to put an intolerable amount of hot sauce on everthing. I know that M. will never eat a mushroom in her entire life.
I love your intro.
I won't eat a mushroom, either, M!! (I'm insanely good at picking them out of stuff.)
Charlotte, I also love real Mexican food, something I did not know until well into my adulthood because I greatly dislike Tex-Mex, or whatever the inauthentic stuff is called. I did not realize the difference until I had been to a few authentically Mexican restaurants. Oops. (Northeasterner here...)
But now I know that the pre-Colombians gave us chocolate. Really, is there more to say???
I loved the cake you made for your son's birthday! I think you are a true artist.
SO looking forward to some tips on simple & organic!
Charlotte, I completely empathise with you over the unconscious noting of the food likes and dislikes of friends and family. I'm constantly monitoring who needs what when we sit around a table, and tailoring their plate to their liking, without having to be asked. Whereas my girlfriend Karen still makes my tea too milky, 11 years on! She is sadly fundamentally uninterested in food, although she does appreciate the good food that she gets all the time at home ;o)
Feeding people I love is, for me, an expression of that love (even if they don't realise it half the time).
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