Cooking Through Life

I am passionate about cooking, local food and all things related to the category of eating. In support of small farmers and local produce, a deep love for all the seasons of the year and fresh ingredients, delicious at their peak. I crave a long morning, afternoon, or even all day, spent in the kitchen; whether alone or with company of friends, family or strangers. I followed this passion toward a career when I hit that quarter life crisis – the period where 20 something’s realize working for a living really is not easy & life before this phase didn’t have as many responsibilities as we thought (why didn’t I listen to that advice at the time??). Anyway, when I struggled in my “full-time” office career, I dropped it all to pursue a love life with food and cooking. I let go of the reliability of my job and took out a loan and a leap of faith on somewhat pricey, long term cooking lessons known as a formal Culinary Education. I loved it! The stress of the kitchen, 35 hours of clas

Have you heard of the book, Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant ? It is a fantastic collection of stories from various individuals telling their experiences with cooking and dining alone. My personal favorites are in the beginning of the book, where mostly food industry people discuss what they "cook" for themselves when they're alone. Mostly when they lived alone in college, as a young professional or when a spouse is out of town, etc.  The stories are fascinating; one of those great confessionals that make me realize my own oddities are, well, not that odd. When I am alone in the kitchen I seem to walk the line between oddly creative and over the top. This morning being in the former camp. Last night I had Thai takeout followed by half a pint of SOODelicious "ice cream".  Yum! Those leftovers (of the thai food, not the ice cream) would be the inspiration for my breakfast. I love a good breakfast and have a strong affinity for eggs with no preference on coo

Let's be clear, I'm not referring to friends who smoke. Rather, being friends with a couple who have their very own outdoor bbq smoker! To a culinary school kid with tools of a commercial kitchen no longer at my disposal, this news was like a dream come true. Two of of my boyfriend's closest friends, Brian and Rebecca (aka The Nunos) are many things: variety beer lovers, friendly cooks and an open house type of couple. They enjoy cooking, especially large pieces of meat they couldn't possibly eat alone. So, they also engage heavily in sharing with others. Enter the boyfriend and I...out for a little drink and music last Friday night (thanks to another friend, Chris H's guitar & singing skills for the entertainment) we started talking about food and that turned into a dinner invite. Sunday evening, smoked turkey and beef brisket. The Nuno's said they would have more than they could eat and wanted to share. Yes, please!?! With a few bottles of beer as our gi

Today I'm heading out to visit my very first Michigan Farmer's Market! I have been anxiously searching and waiting for one nearby to open and it appears that less than two miles away on the other side of Walled Lake, there will be two markets! It is a little early in the season, but for what I'm searching for it's perfect timing. I have been craving beautiful tender stalks of local asparagus. I do not want Asparagus that's been flown up from Mexico or South America. I am living in a land of abundance (apparently!) and I would really like to taste it. So, I'm on the quest for the local stuff. Wish me luck!  I'll take some pictures and let you know if it's amazing ;) -Vicki

It's been a while since the last posting...and a busy four months! I moved! Yes, relocated myself from Seattle, WA back to outskirts of Detroit, MI.  Shocking to see that shift with so many people are choosing to leave here that I came back. Well, I have a father and a boyfriend living here and it seemed like a good time to make the change. I left two of my best friends in Seattle, which is only proving more difficult today than yesterday. I miss them like crazy. Coming home to people who know you so well and you've lived with for so long, is not something easily replaced. Sure, we've had a week or two apart here or there, even a year of living in different states when we first felt the need to find some independence. But the last 5 years were spent developing relationships and lifelong partnerships with two women whom I feel blessed to have in my life. Now we live 2,300 miles apart. That distance does hurt. The need to feel a sense of home and comfort is strong. Seeing m

On January 4 th I will begin my 5 th & final quarter of culinary school. It's been 15 months of 5 am alarms, full-time student/part time worker budget & a whole lot of stress. But it has also been rewarding and a great deal of fun. I have made some life-long friends and countless connections I hope to carry me through to where I want to be. The problem now is to figure out where that is. How do you decide where to direct your focus in life? When does the sign show up, telling you where to go, what to do, who to be? I've done this once, graduated from college, took a job, worked a 9-5...and was quite successful at it. So, what's the hold up now?? The uncertainty I feel regarding my next career move is enough to cause shortness of breath, nervous actions and mental blocking to keep myself from over thinking about the decisions I have to make. Today I'm going to spiff up my resume and apply for some jobs. Or, at least make some connections, since there aren'

I am the proud new owner of 4, yes 4, shiny new cookbooks. Each is signed by the author, which I love. I have a small obsession with signed cookbooks, can hardly resist a purchase when the author is near to place their personal message to me on the title page. It's enough instant excitement to cause nervous chatter or lack thereof on my part. As I sit at the kitchen table tonight, trying to nail down a great dessert recipe for my C.O.D. (final culinary school project) I'm reading snippets from " The Gluten-Free Girl and The Chef ", loving the personal stories she shares. Love "grocery shopping as foreplay"...as I have to agreee...picking out the evening's dinner is fabulously fun and romantic for food minded people. While I love going alone because I can peruse the aisles for hours (as I often do), shopping with another person you're going to cook for brings the excitement to a different level. It's fun to see what people notice and be influenced