My love of cooking

I work two jobs, one full time 9-5 office job and then also part time hours in the evening at another office. My life is pretty hectic with my jobs, house, boyfriend, friends and family so my little escape to switch myself off from the outside world is cooking. It’s a fantastic way to get the creative juices flowing and end up with something that could potentially make a few people smile and say that wonderful word linked with cooking…. ‘yummy’. Obviously they don’t always say that word if you get something a little wrong however the more practice you have the more popular that word becomes.

When I was 16 my Mum started to teach me how to cook things from scratch, started off small with spaghetti bolognaise and then went on to curries, roast dinners, shepherds pie… the list goes on and on. I think because I loved seeing my family’s reaction when I had done a good job it just made me want to keep doing it. My speciality is now chilli con carne, if anyone wants my extremely healthy but wonderfully delicious recipe then post a comment and ill do another blog.

I like cooking from scratch because I can make it as healthy or unhealthy as I like, put what I like in it and do it to my taste. From my years of cooking I can now taste something and know exactly what it needs but that has come from years of practice. I have also mastered a perfect recipe for cakes which makes the fluffiest cake you have ever tasted, it’s superb however once again years of practice.

My favourite chef is Jamie Oliver and has been for a number of years. Jamie is fantastic, his cook books are amazingly easy to follow and he cooks things that are normal home made dinners. I always record any of his TV programmes and he has inspired many of my dinner party favourites. I’ll be going to the taste of Christmas exhibition in London in December which is all about Christmas food, also Mr Oliver himself will be there which I am extremely excited about.

My love of cooking has now rubbed off on a number of friends who I have cooked for and it has inspired them to do the same. We now have the weekly ladies dinner party, on a Wednesday night we each take it in turns to cook dinner and pudding for the four of us and it’s a great night to catch up with each other in the middle of the week. So far we have had tuna fishcakes, chilli con carne, beef stew, reggae chicken salad and a full roast dinner. For one of the girls she had never cooked a day before in her life so these dinner parties have been a great way for her to learn, she has informed us she will be cooking fajitas next week. I may start blogging about our dinner parties so you can all join in the fun and maybe let me know if you have started doing the same or maybe give me dinner ideas?

I hope there are other people out there with the same passion for cooking and just do it for the love of cooking. It’s just a wonderful thing to see the smile on someone’s face and to hear that wonderful word ‘yummy’….

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