Burnt Pine Nuts & Overcooked Meat

My obsession with cooking began at a young age. When my friends were outside playing I was at the kitchen island watching my mom and grandma cook. I loved watching the process, the peeling of vegetables, the seasoning of meat, draining the pasta and plating of food. It made me even more thankful when I sat down to eat it. We had a rule growing up that, whoever cooked didn’t have to do the dishes, so naturally I started to help cook in an effort not to clean up. This is how my sister became “the dish b*tch” as we lovingly call her.

When I started to cook by myself, my fear of failure held me back for a long time. I was scared to use new ingredients, or try new dishes. But I slowly realized even the best chefs had to fail at some point and it became part of the fun process. I started to laugh at the burnt pine nuts (still do this almost every time) and overcooked meat. In fact the first time I cooked dinner for a boyfriend I used skirt steak, which I had never used before. I wanted to give this Texas boy some good ol’ red meat. I seared the crap out of it, and we both could not even cut the meat. Luckily the guacamole was perfect that night so we just ate that and laughed.

My days revolve around food. I wake up thinking about what I want for dinner that night. My Sundays are spent browsing websites, cooking magazines and cookbooks for recipes to try that week. I menu-plan then excitedly drive to the mothership- a grocery store. I switch up which store I go to, so I’m never bored. (In Austin you can find me at Whole Foods, HEB, Central Market and Sprouts). I can wander the aisles for an hour or more. Always leaving with much more than I had planned. Cooking is my outlet. The kitchen is where I feel most at ease in my life. It’s my beach with a pina colada moment.  I invite you to continue reading this blog and share this food journey with me. I’ll share recipes, cooking tips, great wine finds, restaurants to try and more. Please comment and share!

Here’s to many more good eats!