On to bigger and better

Where the Food Trail begins..

I just found out this week where I will be doing my internship as I conclude my last class at culinary school.  It already been a wonderful full year of learning from fast pace classes, to working two jobs and volunteering at events through the school.

  My journey with food and cooking started ever sense I was a child.  Both my parents are great cooks and my mom made a point to make dinner every night from scratch, along with every meal we had.  My mom had to learn how to cook when she was little because she had to help take care of the house with her mom being a single, working mom.  She then went to college and minored in Nutrition which I think influenced the way she cooked for us.  My mom didn't have any role models on how to raise kids, cook or keep a house other then watching her very busy working mom.  When my mom and dad got married, they got pregnant soon after and my mom decided to be a stay home mom, home school and cook healthy whole made food.  I didn't have sugar when I was a kid and some how my mom found amazing ways to make everything taste great and I didn't know what I was missing until I went to college and discovered sugar and caffeine. 

My dad grew up in a family where it was socially unacceptable for a man to be in the kitchen, but he wanted to help my mom when he could, so somehow, like most men I meet, he just started to cook and always ends up making amazing dishes. 

My mom thought it was just as important as schoolwork to teach me and my sibling how to cook and have housecleaning duties.  She would make waffles, granola, and whole made bread for breakfast food, that we all learned to make along with her.  Dinner was always an important meal, we all helped cook, set the table and would be ready for my dad to come home so we could all sit down to dinner together.  As you might of read in another blog, this is where I picked up on the "perfect bite."  I thought this was normal, sitting down together, everyone contributing and enjoying a whole made meal together.  My sisters and I would clear the table, grumbling, but end up singing and throwing the left over water on each other and slapping one another with wet towels while doing dishes. 

Another thing that my mom would work into a school project was picking a place to do a paper on the traditions, culture and food and along with this, we would make a meal from that region, city or area.  I always enjoyed this project, because I found it fascinating how people around the world ate different than we did. 

As I got older, one thing that my mom and I could always talk about and share together is food.  We started a tradition of reading or watching food channels of the best places to eat and we plans trips to these cities and try all the best foods and drinks.

I appreciate every day what my mom taught me and how her passion for food passed down to me. I still love that my whole family loves to cook and we have amazing meals together, no matter how simple they are. I believe that through my background, my parents influence, my friends and my travels, I have grown to appreciate and love the many ways that food brings people together and how many ways you can enjoy food.  Food is beautiful and it can make you fall in love, heal you, satisfy you and comfort you.  Love what you make and care enough about what you put into your body.