50 Shades of Brown

Ok, before you think that this is going to become a cooking blog, a couple disclaimers.  First of all, I am NOT Julia Child, Martha Stewart, or Remi from Ratatouille.   I am not trying to flog recipes in order to gain fame or fortune (I won’t turn down said fortune if presented mind you).  And I am not trying out new recipes on willing and unwilling victims. 

I’m simply here to talk about a basic adult function in life, cooking.  Most mornings, I wake up with a cup of coffee, then I start making breakfast.  No, I’m not talking about laying out 5 types of cereal and milk to choose from, I actually MAKE breakfast. Sometimes the savory aroma of thick cut bacon or sausage frying.  Sometimes, it is various forms of eggs (my specialty), or even on occasion pancakes.  Yes, I can cook, and so can you.

I’m not too horrible at following a recipe, but generally I leave that to Sweetie.  No, I’m the one who takes care of Breakfast, BBQ, and usually fish.  I started long ago learning how to cook an omelet (I wouldn’t advise starting there to be honest) when my mother had the patience to teach a hungry teenager.  That helped a lot. It taught me about temperature, and how to cook eggs without burning them.   Out of self-preservation, I learned to make and fry pancakes on camping trips. My father loved pancakes but could not master frying on a gas camping stove without burning the pancakes.  So I taught myself and my father gladly handed over the spatula.  Over the years, I’ve picked up different recipes, and taught myself to make things rather than having to wait to have it infrequently.

My whole thought in my head is this, do I like to eat?  I answered yes and so I forced myself to learn to help with the cooking.  As an adult, shared responsibilities creates a household where you don’t take each other for granted. I share the cooking responsibilities as well as the kitchen cleaning responsibilities.  

You don’t have to go out and make Beef Burgundy (Said in a Julia Child accent, Boof Burgandyoun), but start with something easy that you both like.  One thing and master it.  Once that is accomplished, try variations of the same dish.  That will help you develop new techniques and to be honest help you to become braver about trying new things.  A couple pointers, don’t turn up the stove TOO high.  It’s way too easy to get impatient and turn it up.  Be careful about multitasking right away, that will also lead to burnt food.  Finally, either season the food lightly, or don’t season it at all and allow you and your partner to add seasoning to their own liking at the table.  Eventually you will figure out what you like, but it is best to start simple and easy.

I finished this article, a couple days ago, and wasn’t able to make the time to publish.  Good thing too, I had another thought. Food allergies. Dairy, wheat, soy, msg, etc… We have figured out some great alternative ingredients.  Most supermarkets now carry a variety of alternatives.  We use nondairy creamer, oat milk, plant based butter, and other substitutes.  Experiment with different brands and substances.  You do NOT need to sacrifice taste for allergy free.  My cooking has been great since I figured that out.  Tonight was fairly simple, Ramen.  I cannot have the flavor packets.  So I researched a dairy free alternative recipe, and mixed up a large batch.  I boiled 4 cups of water, chopped up leftover ham, added the noodles to the boiling water, cracked 2 eggs in, stirred them around, and added the equivalent amount of seasoning.  It tasted heavenly. It was easy and fun to do. 

Don’t ever give up, you will find what you like to cook, because it is my firm belief that everyone can cook.