A Spark in the Kitchen

I wasn't too sure how to begin this, but here it goes!

This is my "official" blog post in regard to my culinary adventures.

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Cooking. What comes to my mind when I hear that word? Well, for starters, I recall being the kid with the toy kitchen set and Easy-Bake Oven. I remember feeling like I could make anything (even if it was only childlike, plastic food replicas or cooked via lightbulb)! However, my actual in-kitchen experiences were mostly limited to the holidays... it was then that I would be sought out for various little (but important) tasks in the kitchen. I think the order in cooking responsibilities went a little something like this over the years:

1) Get the seasonings out.

2) Clean the collard greens.

3) Help with washing the dishes.

4) Shuck the corn.

5) Slice and dice various vegetables.

I wasn't always eager to get into the kitchen... for a good portion of my early years I mostly "made" extremely simple meals such as cereal, oatmeal, and re-heated leftovers. So, pretty much anything that didn't require the use of high temperatures/the stove. This was mainly because I had a few accidents and developed a slight fear of burning everything down. Eventually, I got over that fear and decided to challenge myself in several ways. I had a strong desire to improve my cooking skills as well as try to eat more plant-based meals. These days, I am definitely more aligned with my desires and appreciate the growth.

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I'm currently in the process of gathering photos that I've taken over the years along with recipes. This project is relatively new, but I am excited nonetheless. It feels great to combine some of my favorite creative outlets: cooking and photography. Some photos were taken prior to recipe development (I kind of just put some things together), some meals were prepared by/with others, and some will have recipes (available in an upcoming cookbook).