Sunday, March 30, 2014

The Joy of Cooking

Dear Readers,

How was your weekend?  Mine was simply fabulous!  The weather was perfect! The sun came back and it was finally warmer.  I took my children to a kite festival on Saturday located in a beautiful park downtown.  And on Sunday, we went to another park and took our bicycles along.  The children's cousins were there as well so they just ran around and played for 4 hours each day.  We came home exhausted but happy.  Everybody slept very well at night.

The running and fresh air did good to my old body LOL  My cough is still there but I feel less dizzy than usual and it was a good workout to run around with the kids.  

I came home more energized than ever and did something I don't do often: cooking!  I am not a good cook and I dread cooking meals because I am so afraid it will turn out bad.  I grew up never learning to cook because my mom didn't want me to "waste" my time in the kitchen while I should be studying to earn my university degree instead.  So she never taught me and never wanted me in the kitchen with her.  She firmly believed that cooking could be learned later.

She unfortunately passed away before teaching me any of her wonderful recipes.  I don't know if that's why I was always reluctant to want to cook, because it would always remind me of my mother and how I'll never know how to cook the meals she cooked for me.

Also, I used to have to share my home with other people and my kitchen was never really my kitchen.  The "others" cooked ALL THE TIME so I didn't feel it was my place at all to cook and I didn't even have any space left for my own food.  But there are excuses really.  I am just a failure at cooking!

I am lucky to live next to my relatives who cook for the whole family and my children are always eating at their cousin's house where they stay while I am at work.  But my boy is getting increasingly picky with his food and my baby girl is growing up quickly and wanting to eat adult food now.

So I finally decided to buy a good cookbook: the JOY OF COOKING by Irma S. Rombauer.  There are so many cookbooks out there so I didn't really know what to get but I trust Melissa's advice from JULIA'S BOOKBAG because she often shows wonderful pictures of food she cooked based on the recipes from that cookbook.  

Photo credit : Amazon.com

I didn't think getting a cookbook would matter.  I always relied on recipes found on the internet or recipes from colorful cookbooks I already have at home.  But I lacked the technique and I also lacked the inspiration.  Joy of Cooking if a very heavy book, full of tips and information on how to cook almost everything you could think of.    

The first time I opened the book, I read it like it was an encyclopedia.  Very interesting read and not dry like I thought it would be.   I cooked a few recipes and my family seems to respond well.  I will have a lot to learn still so I can't say I am a good cook (yet) but this book sure helps me getting a decent meal on the table for my family :)

I have JULIA'S BOOKBAG to thank for this change in my life!  Big hugs to you Melissa! xoxoxo



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7 comments:

  1. Congratulations, Jane Cherie! The book sounds like a winner, and your new cooking skills are inspiring. Have a great week, especially now that you've had some sunshine and fresh air! xo Jennifer

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  2. Jane Cherie, The Joy of Cooking is one of my favorite cook books. My husband and I recommend it all the time. I hope you enjoy it.

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  3. Hello from Spain: I read that your weekend was fabulous with outdoor activities. I can not cook. In my house my husband is cooking. Interesting book. Keep in touch

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  4. Hi Jane,
    We had nice weather this weekend too. It is wonderful to have Spring finally in the air. Enjoy your cookbook and have fun. :-)
    Hugs,
    Lisa

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  5. OOOOOOOOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    first, thank you so much for the kind words.

    second, you will not regret this purchase. if my house were on fire and I could only take one cookbook, this would be it. if I could take this and one other book, I would take Joy and a Nigel Slater book, even though I hardly cook out his books, I just like to read them.

    this reminds me, I've been meaning to do a favorite cookbook roundup post for ages!

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  6. I really like reading cookbooks, but unfortunatly I never try one of the recipes :-D. Also my fiance normally cooks for us (I'm just the baker^^)

    Enjoy the wonderful weather - finally spring is here! Have a nice week :).

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  7. I never learned cooking by a parent either but over my travels I tasted some wonderful dishes from all different backgrounds. After much expiermenting and even more burnt disasters I found my own niche and can say I am a pretty good cook nowadays.

    Its good that you are regaining your strength and enjoying the outdoors.. a good walk builds up a good appetite and now you have a great book to get that appetite filled ;)
    hugs, js

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