My Love Affair with Food

November 6, 2012

by Ann

Great food with great friends…  Does life get any better than this?  Ok – if a glass or two of wine were thrown in, the answer would be yes!

My weekly “Tuesday contribution” to our Friendship, Life and Style blog will be about all-things-food.  Even though writing about food is my assignment, I’m sure that Sheila and Heather, my blogging girlfriends will trade topics with me periodically, because they are both amazing cooks and entertainers.

My love affair with food has been alive for as long as I can remember, but it has matured with age.  The affair has progressed from large quantities of chicken wings and beer in college to “small bites” of beautifully prepared appetizers and good wine for happy hour.

My interest in cooking dates back to junior and senior high “Home Economics” classes; enough, in fact, to spur me on to teach Home Ec for nearly twenty years.  (If I was still doing that today, I’d be a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher.)  Although more than a decade has passed since my home ec teacher days, I still enjoy everything about food, other than the messes that are invariably created.

I like to think that I am adventurous when I cook and with what I enjoy eating, but there is a short list of what I don’t like:

·         Ballpark mustard

·         Mussels

·         “Bitey” cheeses (aka most mold ripened varieties)

·         (Capers used to also be in the list, but my attitude towards them has softened lately)

In subsequent weeks my posts will include a bit of my ramblings with a recipe or two.  As an introduction to my philosophy on food, cooking, and eating, you should know that these are my beliefs:

·         Quality is more  important than quantity

·         Food is only great when shared

·         Don’t waste calories on things that are not worth it

·         Nutrition matters

·         Vegetables and fruits are important

·         Wine is important

·         Use the best possible ingredients

·         It’s not necessary to own every kitchen gadget made, but you do need the right tools to do the job

·         Junk food guilty pleasures can be the highlight of a long day, as long as it’s not every day (crunchy Cheetos or Hot Tamales – yum!)