Creative Scratch Cooking

I am a very experienced home cook and a first generation American. I come from a large ethnically diverse family and was raised with old traditions & customs that came with tons of scratch cooking. My parents were hard working immigrants that, because of their financial limitations, needed to cook economically while making use of all ingredient components. Every dish was delicious and was a means to bond with one another. Because my parents each had very different backgrounds, we cooked all types of dishes from both sides. Having traveled back and forth to both their native homeland, I was able to gain a tremendous amount of cooking & food knowledge. Many cultural dishes called for tedious methods that we needed to perfect. Such methods include long handmade pasta, all types of bread, cheeses, tenderized meat & seafood, vegetable & fruit based beverages, breaking down & utilizing whole farm raised animals, etc. Other methods & meals were creative yet quite simple, keeping the busy home cook in mind which include 'Smoking' any dish without a Smoker, making Ice Cream without Ice Cream maker, exotic types of Sauces, Chutney, Vegetable/Fruit/Meat based Stock, Jams, Pastries, Dumplings, Roti, Naan, Focacia, variations of braised Basmati rice, cooking with a wide array of vegetables and whole grains, lots of aromatic spices, etc.

Ever since I was a child I was always 'helping' my mother in the kitchen but it wasn't until I was 8 years old when my serious and in depth teachings of becoming the ethnically traditional 'house wife & home Chef' began. By the time I reached the age of 9, I made my first stuffed scratch dumplings and my food knowledge and love for it continued to grow. Cooking was my sole outlet to express myself and as a child I learned that food can be delicious, fun and ultimately it can bring freedom. For people of all cultures, food becomes a part of us. Food takes us to moments of our past, present and future. Food connects us to each other while bringing us comfort & sustenance...

Recipes should be used as a guide and we should never allow it to restrict us. With knowledge and trial & error, anyone can make marvelous dishes. Think "outside the box", take risks and set free your creative beast.

Cook with love, creativity, an open mind & flavor will always follow!