I started cooking in earnest when I was about 10 years old. I joined 4-H Club, and the first two projects I was in were Foods and Sewing. I had never really enjoyed eating. In fact, my mother used to bribe me to eat breakfast. I had favorite foods, of course, but a lot of things I ate simply because I had to. We were in that generation that was taught "you have to clean your plate," "you'll sit at the table until you've eaten all your food because there are children starving in China", and you had to eat at least two bites of a new food, etc.
Learning to cook was a different story, however. The first cookies I remember making were Snickerdoodles. I also learned to make Sloppy Joes, which I liked because they included catsup which I always used to cover up the taste of beef anyway. I kept taking foods each year and entered baked goods in the County Fair every year and usually won blue or red ribbons. I entered as much as I could because I enjoyed earning the money that came with the prizes.
When I got married, one of my wedding gifts was a membership in a Cookbook Club, and thus began my love of Cookbooks. I can spend hours of happy reading looking through cookbooks and dreaming of the wonderful foods that I could prepare if I ever get around to it. I think my mother must have loved reading recipes too because she would regularly send me the food coupons she had cut out of the newspaper and recipes from the newspaper and magazines that she thought I might like.
Anyway, I still give in once in awhile and buy a new cookbook even though I definitely don't need it. I often keep going back to the recipes that I've used over the years. I've changed many of them to fit our tastes, and the availability of various ingredients. I am not a gourmet cook, by any means. I particularly enjoy fixing things that take a minimal amount of time and effort, but are nutritious and tasty. My newest way to find new recipes is on the internet. I think I might share some of the adventures I have using this venue.
