"Ohh, boy!"
-Merrill Howard Kalin

A Word On: Cooking

Besides being the majority of my employment history, I tend to spend my time cooking. It's very satisfying to spend a portion of the day mixing together ingredients to create tasty and exciting dishes; both traditional and ones never done before. I like to think of cooking being similar to that of alchemy; you take lead -- in this case, raw ingredients -- and through the act of transmutation, turn it into gold.

A great rule of thumb is to buy ingredients before figuring out what you're going to cook. This way, you can save money by buying food that's on sale (though, I tend to buy organic, so I end up spending a little extra). Also, this enables you to break away from the confines of making traditional dishes that seem to be carved into stone in whatever cookbook that hides in you cupboard. Be a Magellan of your own kitchen. Experiment with new things, you may be pleasantly surprised.

But don't forget the most important ingredient: nutrition. Use the rainbow rule when buying fruits and veggies, buy one of each color: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. Don't fret if you can't fill the entire rainbow; everything isn't in season all year round. If you're vegetarian, don't forget your protein: beans, nuts, potatoes, and TOFU! I don't care what little kids think, tofu is awesome. You can make it taste like anything you flavor it with (I've been to restaurants that make 'em taste like meat!), OR like nothing at all and just use as a filler.

Spices, unless you're living in the dark ages, you're bound to have some hiding in your kitchen. USE THEM! Yes, it's true that each foodstuff has its own natural flavoring, but without spices most dishes would be, well, boring. So, don't be shy and bust those things out. Afterall, they tend to lose their "oomph" after a certain amount of time. Let your tastebuds guide you and add some body to your food! Your tongue will thank you.

And one last thing: DON'T BE WASTEFUL! If it's edible, you can use it. See those burnt drippings at the bottom of your pan? Use some water or wine and make a sauce! See that stuff stuck to the edge of your bowl, blender, or food processor? Scrape that, baby! You'd be surprised how much goes to waste when you don't scrape your containers. Sometimes, that stuff that's stuck in the state of tension can equal an entire serving. In our modern world, we are wasteful enough just by the way society is structured. Don't add to the scrapheap... not only will the world thank you, but you thank yourself as well.

So, without further ado, I present you with some of the recipes I've learned or discovered in my own lifetime.

Allez cuisine!