About my Cooking
I grew up eating pretty bland food - but I liked it. I never really considered myself picky until I was dating my wife and she made grilled cheese sandwiches (a staple of my youth) using the wrong cheese and the wrong bread. So, we worked through it. She cooked a lot of things I liked and every time she tried something new, I sort of cringed -- hoping that I would like it. Some people tell this same story, but the punchline is that the wife is a bad cook. Not the case with my wife. The punchline is that I was a bad eater.
So, we worked out an agreement -- well, she stopped trying new things and ended up not enjoying cooking anymore because she didn't like the rejection my finicky pallet provided.
Fast forward a number of years to find me - looking for things to do with my kids. Like most men, I was in charge of the barbecue (although, in truth, I wasn't very good at it). I started getting my kids to help me marinate the steaks, and I started getting better at making good food. Mainly, though, I enjoyed making people happy (and my kids liked helping me cook). Alex and I made a homemade marinade one day that turned out pretty good. Emma was always the one who was there to help me apply a rub to the steaks. Bella could always be counted on to dredge something (coat in flour, egg and breadcrumbs). They all liked peeling potatoes and other tasks like that. I just enjoyed the companionship.
Secretly, though, I also liked controlling the ingredients. I was not raised eating a lot of onions, peppers, mushrooms and other "grown up" foods. I term them that, because now that I am older, I tend to notice the tastes more and I am more willing to experiment. I have a theory about taste bud deterioration, but I don't think I can win an argument with it.
So, as I progressed with my PhD, I found myself in position to cook for the family every night. I enjoyed going to the grocery store with my kids (again, it was companionship, but also a sense of adventure as we decided what was on the night's menu). In fact, this brings up another difference with my wife. She likes buying things on sale (who doesn't), but sometimes the problem with buying food on sale is that it doesn't get cooked and gets spoiled (or freezer burned -- sorry, pack of 64 hamburgers). I like buying food for tonight's meal today. If I had my way (and I did when I was going to school), I would go to the market every day with a grocery list for the night's meal. The food was all fresh and it wasn't wasted in the cupboard, fridge or freezer.
So, I started experimenting with some recipes (and starting watching a lot of food-based television shows). I learned a lot of techniques and a lot about how food interacts with other ingredients and different heating methods. Here's an example - I always thought the thing under the stove was the broiler (it turns out it is just a storage drawer, in our house). When I started my culinary hobby, I couldn't pick out most spices out of a lineup (visually or by taste). So, I set out to learn more, expand my horizons, and make something good.
I think this also ties into my creative side. I have a long story (maybe to be posted on this site at some point) that explains how I went from loving math as a kid, to hating it in college, to coming back to it with computer programming. The story ends with the listener understanding that I like problem solving and creativity, but don't like the idea of one right answer. With food, in most cases, there is also no one right answer. Chicken and Beef can be prepared thousands of ways and still be enjoyable. Perhaps some crushed, toasted coriander seed will make a great difference -- or maybe you won't notice it specifically, but it provides a depth of flavor to the other ingredients. Essentially, I wanted to know more about all of the tools -- I wanted to be able to say -- "You know, if you would add a bit of cumin to this recipe, it would really bring out the flavor" (and I wanted to be able to add a bit of cumin to it and that be right).
So, I started with online recipes. Online recipes are a resource that fit my style; I have cook books, but they are not searchable. So, while I do go through the cookbooks periodically, I tend to start online looking for a specific set of ingredients to start with (and looking for reviews about ways to make the recipes better).
This site is really an extension of this hobby – plus gives me the motivation to continue to cook. There is a part of me that still just likes to eat, and I would be satisfied with just cooking the same 5 or 6 things all of the time (steak, schnitzel, Spaghetti with Ragu sauce and a breakfast medley with eggs, hash browns, ham, bacon, and sausage).
Without this site, I would not have favorite recipes for homemade brownies or roasted Brussels sprouts or chicken cordon bleu with a white wine sauce.
So, this recipe collection still matches my tastes – you won’t find many spicy foods in here and I don’t think I have a single recipe that has calls for mushrooms. But, there are flavors in here that I wouldn’t have touched a few years ago. The pepper flakes in the tomato sauce and sausage are an example. The chives in the scrambled eggs are another.
Also (and this will change when I return from Korea), my selection of fresh vegetables is not what it is in the States, so there are a number of recipes that have what I can get here. I can get potatoes and broccoli every time I go to the grocery store. If I want something special like basil and Brussels Sprouts, I either have to go to Yongsan (Seoul) or Osan (the Air Force Base south of Seoul). This has probably forced me to be a little more creative, but at the same time, limits me in a way.
Finally, this project has as much to do with my web site design as anything else. I use the same admin area that I sell to my clients, and by using it, I can see the shortcomings and things that would make it better. As I progress, I am going to continue to add to this site (both content and functionality), so please check back often to see new recipes.
If you do like this site, or have questions, please let me know (Cooking@GMotes.com).
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