I am an oddity in our circle of friends in that I cook almost every day even though I work full time for a technology company. My job is not technical, so creating this blog has been an accomplishment. Cooking is a creative outlet, relaxing - yoga with a sauce pan - and cheaper and much more fun than therapy. Plus, we get to taste some good stuff.
We eat mostly made-from-scratch food, and our eating philosophy is pretty simple. Local if possible, follow the USDA's "dirty dozen" list for organic, and rarely eat processed foods. If you can't read an ingredient on the label of a food, we don't eat it. We have really gotten in to canning vegetables and making sauces, relishes, salsa, jams and pickles the last few years too. I typically prepare a few new recipes each week, which I will chronicle here. I do have a list of repeaters and family food traditions such as the seafood stuffed shells in cream sauce we have every Christmas Eve. I love weekend cooking when I have time to make more elaborate fare than what we eat during the week, and along with my wine guy, we enjoy hosting dinner parties for friends, who also enjoy good food and vino.
Over the years, I've collected more cookbooks than any person should own, but if I find just one great recipe, I rationalize the purchase was justified. I love food magazines and books about food and cooking. I am a chef instructor for nutrition/cooking classes through Share Our Strength's Cooking Matter program, and I was on the board of Food Outreach for many years, a metro St. Louis organization that provides nutritional support to men, women, and children living with HIV/AIDS and cancer. Food really is our passion in so many ways.
Feel free to email me at golions1982 (at) gmail (dot) com.
