My Journey with Food

Since a lot of you are just starting to get to know me, I figured I’d give you a little more background and insight into who I am and what drives my passion for food and cooking.

I was raised in Western, MA and lived with my Mom, Dad and Sister. My upbringing was pretty traditional and my family always had a blast together (and we still do). My Dad is a self-made entrepreneur which meant he worked a lot (like 14 hour days). My Mom spent her mornings working as a perfume consultant at a major department store and her afternoons schlepping us all over town for dance class, acting class and Hebrew school (to name a few).

Despite their busy schedules, my Dad and Mom would do the best they could and try to cook at home.

However, the reality was, my Dad was busy and couldn’t always make it home for dinner and my mom was pre-occupied being superwoman, so our family ended up eating out a lot. It was nice, because this meant we could also meet my Dad (who would take a break) and all have dinner all together. When it came to going out to dinner, we weren’t heading to McDonalds either. My parents know good food and always took us to the cities best restaurants (this was before my Dad turned Vegan).

As a result of all this exposure to fancy restaurants, I had a pretty sophisticated palate at an early age. Although a little bit meticulous about my order, at 5 years old, it wasn’t uncommon for me to order chicken marsala (no mushrooms) or french onion soup (no onions). I knew what I wanted and I wasn’t afraid to order it. Come to think of it, I’m not sure I ever ordered off of a kids menu (until I wasn’t a kid anymore, but would pretend I was to get a discount).

As a little girl ordering off of the adult menu, I’d get some funny looks from the waitstaff, but my parents always spoke to me like an adult and encouraged me to order like one. I think this coupled with the fact that I grew up only watching the Food Network set me up to be a complete and utter foodie.

When I headed off to college and finally had a kitchen all to myself, I started cooking and just never seemed to stop. My picky attitude towards trying different types of food slowly dissipated as I was forced to try new things in order to evolve my cooking techniques. I would literally cook for anyone who asked and I was constantly experimenting with lots of different ingredients and flavors. Since I’m not much of a recipe follower, I would just head into my kitchen, see what I had and create my next recipe.

Cooking eventually became an outlet for me and has actually got me through a lot of difficult times (2 hard break-ups and a really rotten friendship to be exact). Besides cooking to cope, I also cook because one of the greatest feelings in the world is watching someone you love enjoy your creation. If you’re someone who enjoys cooking, you know exactly what I mean.

So in a nutshell, that’s a little bit more about me. I know this isn’t a recipe you can use or a fantastic food review, but it’s a little bit more insight into my “life’s recipe.”

Love always,
Erica