Member Since:
Nov. 2004
Cooking Level:
Expert
Cooking Interests:
Baking, Grilling & BBQ, Stir Frying, Slow Cooking, Mexican, Indian, Italian, Southern, Mediterranean, Healthy, Vegetarian, Kids, Gourmet
Hobbies:
Sewing, Gardening, Camping, Walking, Reading Books
I've spent the last 34 years in the Canadian Airforce moving back and forth across the country and in Egypt. We have spent many holidays in southern states and Mexico which is why we are so heavy into Tabasco and things warm. I grew up in Nova Scotia on seafood because it was cheap; we had beef for special occasions only. Now that I'm married to a prairie boy, meat & potatoes are a staple and seafood is a luxury! What I would give for a lobster and clam bake!
My favorite things to cook
I like making seafood hors d'oeuvres, menu meals for friends and family; yeast bread & buns, pizzas, soups and pasta. If someone asks what they can bring for dinner I always ask them to make dessert! When I try a dessert it usually turns out fine but it's just not my favourite thing to make. I rely on ice cream and Irish Cream a lot! I've added making my own dogfood to my repetoire now that I've retired and have a Bichon Frise puppy.
My favorite family cooking traditions
For just us on Friday nights we often have a garlic fix: Broccoli pesto Pasta with garlic cheese toast. I like making chicken dinners, pasta, anything Mexican or Italian, homemade pizza; my yearly special is Mom's Aunt Ann's Warcake Recipe as a Christmas fruitcake base.
My cooking triumphs
My pressure cookers are staples in my kitchen! Stuffed mushrooms, yeast breads, and almost every recipe I've tried from AllRecipes (no, I'm not sucking up, they are just good recipes, especially the 5 stars with lots of comments.)My Bichon loves his homemade dogfood...he should, as it takes about 3 hours to grind all the meat and package up about a month's worth of food.
My cooking tragedies
I milled oats once instead of wheat by mistake and made bread that made good doorstops once covered with a coat of varnish.