I don’t like weird things. I hate asparagus and artichokes. My husband is meat-and-potatoes and I am tomato-lettuce-cheese (basically, we’re a Culver’s Deluxe meal with fries).
I don’t have an air fryer or insta-pot and I melted the lid on my deep fryer. I don’t know the names of some fancy kitchen utensils they use in other recipe blogger videos. So, welcome home! I’m glad you’re here, and I hope you enjoy learning new things with me.
I’ll try something new once in a while, but I’m not a fan of seafood. I can be quite picky, though I’ve known people that just astound me with their food favorites and eating habits (i.e., iceberg lettuce and peanut butter).
Still, I love food – the process of preparation, the smell, the taste and texture, the warmth of comfort foods and the refreshing benefits of clean eats. Like melt-in-your-mouth steak with fresh arugula; from juicy fried chicken to the pop of a cherry tomato exploding in your mouth – it’s all good.
But is a taco salad healthy or not?
I try to eat healthy to complement our desk-jockey, movie-buff lifestyles (drinking cinema anyone?). But we’re from Wisconsin, and you cannot skimp on the cheese (ahem, Taco Bell belongs in cheese jail). I’m a cheddar/American girl, but I do try the “fancy” cheeses once in a while (they’re quite expensive).
Cooking is a privilege, a responsibility, a science, a passion. It can bring a family together, forge and fortify bonding relationships. Food is essential, and typically a social and interpersonal experience.
You want to have a one-on-one meeting or hangout; What’s the food? A girls’ night out; What restaurant (or who’s kitchen bar) do we start at?
Food connects people, defines culture, and benefits society.
I’m not a gardener, because I have a black thumb. But with all these processed, package food recalls and deaths and injuries, as the years gone by, I have wanted to eat my own food, or from local farms. We try to be local proud, or self-sufficient without being full-on survivalists, or spending more money than we have to invest in our healthy diet. I’ve started by trying to grow lettuce & tomato in my AeroGarden®.
Our Family
My husband and I met online, in 2000. Yahoo! Chat used to have a user search, you could search nearby for users by age, location or gender, and he just started a random chat with me. We married in 2017 for logistics alone. My best friend, my crutch, we argue and fight to win, but we forget it quickly and live together in monotony.
Health
I have a really poor memory. I learned that high blood pressure can lead to memory lapses, cognition problems. I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol. My physician has prescribed more than 8 different prescription medications until I decided to stop taking them to avoid the side effects. I researched the cause and tried to halt my oncoming diabetes, stroke, and heart attack. So far, my diet along with the correct vitamin supplements have aided my rehabilitation through research. I’ve lost over 60 pounds and regained some energy and focus.
Seriously, ask me what we did two weeks ago, ask me what I had for dinner yesterday – I have no freakin’ clue! I can look in the fridge at the leftovers, or look at my meal plan to see what I cooked and deduce from there what I ate in the last week. But that’s all.
I suppose I drink a lot. Every day, in fact. I think I’m a normally maladjusted person from a dysfunctional family.
Other Thoughts
I might talk about family. It is a sore subject. My childhood was worse than real-life “Married With Children” and ” The Simpsons” – because both of those had a DAD. A Father, or a father figure to replace the absent/missing/otherwise deceased father is extremely important to a family UNIT.
As with most single-parent households, there is no money for food, so I grew up on macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, powdered milk and fried bologna for dinner. Now, all those things fill me with joy, and save money. We ate other things, too, obviously, but it wasn’t a widely varied diet.
I had never heard of fennel, or leek, or asparagus (maybe that’s why I don’t like those things). Salad was basically iceberg lettuce with some carrot, so I don’t vary greatly from that as an adult, though I have learned to love other greens like arugula, leaf lettuce and especially romaine. Protein was derived from red meats & processed meats and sometimes chicken or fish sticks.
When I became a young parent, I learned a lot, I tried a wider variety of foods once my daughter was old enough to choose. She loved plums and pudding pie. I loved making enchiladas and lasagna and making up fun snacks for her and her friends.
I lost my daughter in 2016. Because her life was extinguished. No more fire from my fairy child. I tried to let her be her own person when she was murdered in Milwaukee. Its tough enough to let go of your only child when they’re 18, but then she died within 5 years.
Thus, any food I prepare always reminds me of her benefit, and my loss, my failure. It is extremely emotional when you can no longer cook for your only child. Her favorite recipes will remain unmade, or else the main ingredient will be tears.
My Nicknames
I thought I might make a Drunk Cooking show, because my husband calls me the Tasmanian Devil, The Swedish Chef, when I make a big, invested meal. But someone already did this, she has a YouTube channel, and she can be quite funny.
I’m kind of a slob, but I clean everything up when I’m done. If I’m not done, then don’t worry about it! I’ll still be makin’ a big, drunken mess!
That’s all I want to say about that for now. I hope you enjoy and connect and continue to use food to form bonding relationships.
