Peppermint Meringues

If you’re like me and somewhat new to culinary terms & recipe names, peppermint meringues probably caused you to raise an eyebrow or take a couple minutes to figure out what the heck a meringue actually is. The only time I’ve ever been familiar with the word “meringue” was when I was sloshed at Perkins on 86^th St in Des Moines at 2 am on a Saturday night gazing upon the endless rows of pies. Even while inebriated, lemon meringue pies didn’t look good. At all.

Cut to 2 weekends ago when Mandy told me that we were making peppermint meringues. I didn’t really even think about the process or what they would look like, all I knew is that I had to put on a brave face, step out of my comfort zone, & just cook.

As mentioned in one of my first entries, I’m not good at math. I couldn’t pass a fraction test if you had me try. I just don’t understand those types of things-math isn’t my strong suite. When Mandy was reading the instructions for the meringues & how we had to add the sugar in layers, I thought “Hey, no problem.” Yeah, that was until she said that we had to cut the amount of sugar we layered into thirds. “What the heck does that even mean?” With patience she explained it to me like cutting a pizza into thirds. “Oh, okay, I like pizza. I got it now.” If math teachers would have taken the time to explain things to me in regards to pizza, I think that I may have passed with flying colors.

Here's the link for the recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Peppermint-Meringues-368976

Our first attempt at Peppermint Meringues went like this:

The eggs are supposed to be at room temperature, right? Do you know how long it takes eggs to drop down to room temperature after being in the fridge? It seemed like hours! So while the eggs were warming up we were anxiously waiting for the apple cider I wrote about in the last post to finish. During this first attempt at meringues I learned how to crack the eggs so that you only get the egg white part in your baking mixture. No part of the shell fell in either! I was kind of impressed with myself. The hardest part about that was making sure you didn’t let any of the fat from the egg get into the mixture.

Mandy had measured out all the sugar & things we needed for the meringue recipe so that it would be smooth sailing as soon as she started mixing. Well, it was all going great. The mixture was peaking, sugar was being added, you name it. Then it was time for the peppermint extract. I was freaking out because I couldn’t tear the foil off of the extract bottle & I was also trying to strain the apple cider that was on the stove. Adding the peppermint extract was my only job. My ONLY job. Mandy was mixing like a pro & telling me to hurry up & add the extract or the mixture would fall. So, the foil comes off & we can’t find a measuring spoon. Mandy tells me just to eyeball it. Okay, fine, I’m a good eyeballer. Two seconds later almost half of the peppermint extract bottle was in the mixture thus causing it to fall. I had ruined the peppermint meringues.

Because we hadn’t ever made something like this before we figured we could salvage the meringues. We improvised and poured the now liquid meringue mix into a tiny cake pan & topped it off with candy cane Hershey kisses. Our meringue mixture was now cake batter. No big deal.  Needless to say after it had finished baking it was terrible. We laughed for a really long time about the situation & decided that we had enough ingredients to try again.

Our second attempt at Peppermint Meringues went like this: My only job this time around was to add another layer of sugar to the mixture after 2 minute intervals. Mandy was going to add the extract this time. During the first attempt Mandy was mixing & adding the sugar without actually waiting the two minutes in between each sugar layer. So maybe THAT’S why the mixture fell & not because I added more peppermint extract than needing. (I highly doubt it.) After the meringue mixture has peaked, the peppermint extract was to be added.  We had no problems what so ever that time around. We added red food coloring to the ziplock bag that we had transferred the mixture to. This was to make it appear like red peppermint swirls. I have had some experience in piping cookies & frosting things, so I offered to put most of the meringues on the baking sheet.

Here’s the finished product! These meringues & the apple cider were the only things we got around to baking that afternoon. Even though we messed up the first batch of these meringues, it was a great learning experience on how much you need to be prepared before you start baking & how attentive you really need to be instead of just going with the flow.

Spiced Apple Cider

The first thing that Mandy & I made together last weekend was apple cider. This isn't just any apple cider-this is the best apple cider that I have ever had. I'm not lying when I say this. I've never really been a fan of apple cider. The cinnamon to apple ratio has always made me cringe. Cringe I did when I saw the ingredients to make it on Mandy's grocery list. I saw that this recipe called for cloves & immediately rambled out a story about how my mom used to make ham with cloves. I never cared for cloves & I think they smell odd. But, because all of the things we were making that weekend were things we had never made before, I thought I better give this apple cider a shot. Speaking of shots, this cider is non-alcoholic.

Look at those orange peels! I did that. :) 

Mandy had to show me how to peel just the orange part of the peel with a peeler. I got the hang of it pretty quick. She also demonstrated how to use a mortar & pestle while crushing up the cardamom pods. Those things are nuts! I had no idea how they worked. I thought they were strictly for people who wanted to pretend they were pharmacists. Mandy got all her recipes from Epicurious.com in case you guys wanted to check out that website. It's pretty neat & easy to navigate. 

Ingredients:
1 large orange
4 quarts apple cider
1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
15 whole cloves
10 whole allspice
8 whole green cardamom pods, crushed
5 cinnamon sticks, each broken in half

Directions:
Using vegetable peeler, remove peel (orange part only) from orange in strips. Place orange peel in heavy large pot (reserve orange for another use). Add apple cider, golden brown sugar, fresh lemon juice, cloves, allspice, cardamom pods, and cinnamon sticks to pot. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until cider mixture is reduced to generous 8 cups, about 40 minutes.  Strain cider into medium pot. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Refrigerate until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated). Rewarm cider. Ladle into mugs.

The best part about making this cider was watching the stream roll off the top of the pot & the smell of spices & oranges filling the kitchen. We kept sticking our noses over the top of the cider & breathing in super deep. (Mandy wants to me to put in a disclaimer that you could get a steam burn from doing this. She doesn't want me to get sued because people weren't smart enough not to burn themselves!)  It was so hard to wait the 40 minutes until it was ready because we wanted to drink the cider as soon as we started making it. The cider was absolutely delicious! I was craving some my entire trip back to Iowa.

Enjoy guys!

Christmas baking & decorating Minnesota style.

This last weekend I was in Minnesota visiting Mandy. We dedicated the weekend to recharging,  & spending some time baking & decorating her house before Christmas. A couple of days prior to me leaving Iowa City for the Twin Cities, she had given me a run down of the items she was interested in baking. Quite honestly, the list of treats made me nervous because they seemed so fancy compared to what I was used to nibbling on for the holidays. But, that's Mandy, she's fancy & isn't afraid to take risks with cooking.

Saturday afternoon after we stopped for sandwiches at The Cheese Shop & smoothies at Jamba Juice, both of which I had never been to, we headed out to tackle the long grocery list of what was needed to complete this baking adventure of ours. I ordered a chicken salad sandwich & Mandy ordered a Thanksgiving turkey type of sandwich from The Cheese Shop. Hers had brie & cranberry chutney on it. (Side note, the chutney smelled terrible but was so delicious!) Jamba Juice was kind of intense only because there were so many options, but I ended up with Pomegranate Paradise. It was super tart! Mandy got Orange Carrot Karma which she said was fantastic. I tried it & disagreed. Who wants to taste carrots in their smoothies? Not me!

We went at Target in Eden Prairie to pick up some bake ware that Mandy needed before we could start making cookies. She found a lot of great deals on cookie sheets, cooling racks, & a hand mixer. The night before her & I had been discussing if she should splurge & spend the money on a nicer mixer or just suck it up & get a cheaper one. I told her, "I bet a hand mixer would only be, like, 6 dollars. It's not a big deal." I was using my vast knowledge of kitchen items & holiday sales to convince her to save her money. Little did I know...

While I  browsing the Christmas end caps/stocking stuffers & wishing I could buy everything in Target, she was deciding on kitchen items. She walked over with a big smile on her face & held up a hand mixer. She asked, "Guess how much?" I said, "No way! 6 dollars?" She said, "YES!" The celebratory dance I did in the middle of Target was quite extensive. People were staring, but that's what made it even better. We had an in-depth conversation about mixing bowls. Do you get the stack of 3 with handles & a lip for $20 or do you get the stack of 6 regulars bowls for $20? She choose the stack of 3. (I would have chosen the stack of 6.) Before we left Target, Mandy was deciding between a set of flannel sheets that were on sale or a pair of house slippers. I'm not joking, we went back forth between the two for at least 20 minutes. She decided on the slippers.

Knox decided he needed to show his slippers too! 

Just across the street was our next stop: Cub Foods. There were so many items on the list that it seemed like were in there for 10 hours. I was bumbling around testing out different crackers, spreads, & cheeses because it was sample day & in the meantime Mandy was concentrating on buying the right kind of New York strip steak. I'm a great helper! 

How much chocolate do we need?

In the middle of the baking aisle Mandy & I were comparing bars of chocolate to bags of chocolate chips while old ladies & soccer moms bustled around us fretting over their own recipes. I don't care what anyone says, it was really neat to be doing math out loud in the grocery store with someone who makes me feel really happy, not stressed out. My mom called while Mandy was looking for some particular spice & I didn't realize it until the end of the conversation, but I had been "facing" baking items while I was chatting with mom. I worked at Fareway, a grocery store native to Iowa, for almost 4 years so it's kind of instilled in my brain that I need to fix the shelves when they're messy. Facing is where you bring two of an item to the lip of the shelf so that it looks neat & stocked. Now I understand why I was getting weird looks from all of the women walking by me. 

"Do they even make chopped hazelnuts?" 

There were only two items that we couldn't find or buy at Cub foods: Fleur de Sel (Flour of the Salt in French) & Crème de Menthe. Apparently, you can't buy alcohol in grocery stores in Minnesota. Also, you can't buy alcohol on Sundays. When Mandy told me this I threw a fit & shouted, "What about Sunday Funday?" She replied calmly, "That's why you plan ahead, like on Saturday night." Who does that? Who is prepared for Sunday Funday on a Saturday? Ridiculous, I say. 

All stocked up!

Whenever I check out of a grocery store I like to put my groceries on the belt in order of how they should be sacked just out of convenience for those who are sacking my groceries & most importantly, efficiency for the cashier. Mandy let me do this & watched intently, I think maybe she was smirking as I separated cold meats from boxed items. As she was paying, I noticed that all of the groceries were sitting down at the end of the conveyor belt. No one was around to ask "Paper or plastic?" I turned to Mandy, "You have to sack your own groceries?" Quite shocking for someone who worked around groceries all throughout high school. 

The rest of this entry will be dedicated to the decorating we did around her house Sunday evening. My next blog post will feature the first thing we made on Saturday, so just keep reading! 

Sunday afternoon we decided that Mandy needed some sort of holiday tins or bags to put her cookies in to give out as gifts. We hit up Family Dollar for some cheap tins. After that we went to the holy grail of all things Christmas, Michael's. For those that are unfamiliar, Michael's is large arts & crafts store. If you're feeling some what of Scrooge, go walk around Michael's for a hot second. You'll leave the store feeling like you spent time in Santa's workshop spreading Christmas cheer. Mandy was bopping around from aisle to aisle & I couldn't keep track of her so I suggested that we get a cart & take it aisle by aisle. I am turning into my mother, I swear. There were a lot of sales on Christmas tins, holiday wreaths, & tree ornaments. She snagged a very elegant wreath for $20. 

Happy Holidays! 

My mom always has cinnamon pinecones scattered around the house during the winter months so when I saw them at Michael's, I got all sappy & kind of nudged Mandy into buying some for herself. That smells always makes me think of home. It was nice to share that memory with Mandy. Once I'm back home in Des Moines for Christmas, I'm going to Trader Joes to buy my mom a cinnamon broom to sit in the corner just like I did last year. 

Mandy found a vase on sale & added some jingle bells to her pinecones. Great accent piece!

Putting up the Christmas tree together was absolutely warming to my heart. Not only because we were making our own memories & having a blast while doing so, but it made everything else around us feel like Christmas. There isn't any snow on the ground & it's been a very warm winter so far. I put all of the hooks on the bulbs & she hauled up her tree from the basement. She's very organized so we separated the different parts of the tree limbs into piles before attaching them to the base. I appreciate organization in my life so this was just the cherry to my holiday sundae. We tackled stringing the lights like a team & the tree went up in no time at all. 

The finished tree. I think it looks amazing next to her red couch. What do you guys think?

The bear cub ornament we got nestled in lights! 

Even though the shopping was a little tiring the end result was very satisfying. Like I said, the next few entries will be focused on the treats that we made over the weekend. I'm thankful that I not only got to spend time in Minnesota, but that I was able to participate in something so special with someone who means a lot to me. 

Once finals week is over I'm going to make some posts about the weekend I spent with Mandy & all of the things that we baked for Christmas. :)

Just be patient!

Melting Moments

As long as I can remember my Grandma Janet has made a plethora of cookies & goodies for Christmas. I could be mistaken, but I know that she starts right around Thanksgiving or a little bit after we've filled our bellies with turkey. She's famous for two different kinds: melting moments & spritz cookies.  This post I'm going to give you all the famous "melting moments" recipe. Seriously, these cookies are such hit. You'll be craving them all year round.

But first, for those of you who are new to the baking world or just out of the loop a little bit, spritz cookies are a simple butter/sugar/almond type of cookie. A cookie press let's you decide what shape or size you want. You can dip them in icing, frost them, sprinkle them, whatever you heart desires. My Grandma Janet, or Gma J as I will be referring to her from here on out, has this really old, tattered cardboard box that she keeps all of her spritz cookie baking bits in. No matter where she has lived, no matter how many times she's been in & out of the hospital, somehow & some way, she's always asking my mom, "Teresa, did you get the spritz cookie box?" My mom just rolls her eyes, as if to say, "Yes, mom, I wouldn't dare forget your spritz cookie pieces." I like watching my mom & Gma J talk about baking & cooking. I've only seen the press pieces of a couple of times. All I knew is that once the holidays come around, Gma J's cookies were in my mouth.

Here's a sample of what you can do with the spritz cookie pieces. I don't really care for the green cookies, but I don't tell  Gma J that.  I remember my sophomore year at Iowa, Gma J sent me back to school after Christmas break with a 3 pound cookie tray of spritz cookies, melting moments, & other Christmas goodies. That's probably why I gained 20 pounds that semester. Unfortunately, these past 2 holiday seasons we haven't been blessed with Gma J's baking. She's had some medical issues that prevented her from being in her own home. Right now she's skating around on her new Jazzy scooter & I really don't think she'll be that agile in the kitchen this year. I hope that once I become more experienced with baking, I can start playing with her cookie recipes. She'd be incredibly happy that I'm interested in the things that bring her joy.

Now on to Gma J's famous "melting moments." These cookies take a little bit of baking professionalism in your blood on your first couple of attemps, but once you've made them enough times, you're set. Below is the a picture of the actual recipe. My mom submitted the recipe to her company's cookbook one year. For those friends and family members fortunate enough to have tried these cookies that's all we hear about when the holidays roll around, "Is your Grandma going to make those melting moment cookies again?"

Ingredients: 
1 cup butter
1 cup whipping cream
2 cups flour (do not use self-rising)

1/4 cup soft butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cookie:
Mix butter, cream, and flour thoroughly, then cover and chill. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out dough 1/3 at a time on a floured surface to approximately 1/8" thick.  Keep remaining dough in the refrigerator until you are ready to roll out. Cut into 1-1/2" circles-if you don't have a cutter this size, use a lid from a spice jar. Transfer rounds with spatula to wax paper covered with white sugar. Turn each one so that both sides are covered. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. (I use parchment paper on them when I bake these) and prick each round 4 times with a fork. Bake 7-9 minutes until set but not brown (just when the edges are starting to turn). Let cool and put together in pairs with creamy filling. You can be creative and add flavorings like vanilla, lemon, or almond extract or food colorings to the filling if you want. Sometimes I add 1 teaspoon of almond extract to the cookie dough.

Filling:
Mix butter, sugar, and vanilla until smooth and fluffy. If you need to add water, do so a few drops at a time. Makes sure this is not too thin or it will harden.

Grandma let me help her one year. From what I remember, this was the year that Grandma came to visit us for an extended period of time while my mom & I were living in Ogden, Ia. We had this really huge house & an open kitchen-perfect for making holiday treats. Not only did we have ample space, but we had this front porch that was just the right temperature for putting cookies on cooling racks & storing them in festive tins.

I'm cutting out the shapes for the melting moments here in the kitchen of that fabulous house, fabulous because of the wallpaper. Also, we had a farmhouse sink. Those, in my opinion, are fantastic. I have flour all over my hands & like any normal 14 year old girl, I'm multi-tasking. I'm trying to cut out the dough, move the hair out of my face, & trying to remain calm while my mom snapped pictures of me assisting in the tradition of Grandma J's famous cookies. HOW UNCOOL MOM!

Grandma has had some changes to her hair since 2001, but her surprised face hasn't changed in the last 10 years. My mom caught her while she was placing the melting moment cookies on the cookie sheet before putting the cookies together with the filling Also, I really miss that wall phone. I remember talking for hours to all of my friends & getting tangled in the white cord. See that gingerbread man on the wall? My mom still has that!

I hope that you guys get a chance to try these melting moments out. Let me know if you have any questions about them. They really are a super hit! I couldn't imagine Christmas without them.

Appreciation Post

Before I dive into a new post, I'd like to thank anyone who is everyone that took the time to read my blog in the last couple of weeks. This blog isn't just a final project for a class, it's something that I'm very serious about keeping up with while I get things in order for my move to Minnesota & while I'm in culinary school. Now, I know anyone is who everyone that has had a blog has said the exact same thing. They vow to keep up with their posts & appeal to their audience. This topic was something that was brought up in my Creative Writing for New Media class this semester. How do you keep your audiences' attention? In the near future I hope to add some videos & more posts that contain pictures. No one wants to read a full page of text anyway, I mean, not in this day & age. We are all very busy & live fast paced lives.

Again, thank you all. I hope that I can fill your hearts & stomachs will love.

I've always been willing to lend a helping hand in the kitchen, even it was just washing dishes. My dad would let me dry while he washed. It was a bonding experience for us & I cherish those memories with him in my heart. I'll be posting a little later about the times we would cook together, but for now, enjoy these pictures.

Streeeetch!

Rockin' the top pony & turtleneck. Also, that's our hunting dog Storm. Apparently she was really into Dawn dish soap too.

Unique New York

The start of holiday madness has begun & so has the holiday cooking. My grandma Jensen has started baking her famous spritz cookies & my grandma Long has begun thinking about how much cranberry fluff she needs to make for Christmas. On both sides of my family the holiday meals are never alike nor are they very traditional in my opinion. That doesn't matter though as long as we are all together. I thought I'd use this entry to share with you one of the more unique holiday recipes that my family & I make whenever we get the chance.


Creamed Peas

My first job was working at Spurgeon Manor in Dallas Center, Iowa as a dietary aide. I prepped meals, set tables, served meals, did the dishes, etc. Times were really tough at home & money was super tight. I knew that I would always have a hot meal whenever I worked, so I looked forward to going to work. The head chefs were always very nice to me & understanding that I didn't have a lof of money, so they would fix me meals for free. It was getting close to Thanksgiving & there was an item on the menu I had never seen, let alone tasted,  before. It was creamed peas. Working at a nursing home I immediately thought of the worst thing-blended peas. There were some residents that couldn't chew very well & because of that they needed their meals pureed. As I was dishing out the meals that evening, I discovered how the creamed peas were prepared & I even got to try some that night. I was completely blown away. As a vegetable lover for as long as I can remember, this were definitely my new favorite.

This is my mom making me creamed peas for Thanksgiving in 2008.

3 years later. This year she came to Iowa City to make me Thanksgiving dinner. She made due without the heavy cream that the recipe calls for & the fact that I don't own a whisk!

Ingredients:

2 cups frozen peas, thawed
2/3 cup water
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon white sugar

Directions:


1. In a medium saucepan combine peas, water, & salt. Bring to a boil, then stir in butter.
2. In a small bowl whisk together cream, flour, & sugar. Stir mixture into peas. Let cook for 5 minutes over medium-high heat until thick & bubbly. Serves 4.

Minneapolis Community & Technical College

http://www.minneapolis.edu/Educational-Programs/Programs/culinary-arts/

Here's a link to the school that I'm interested in. I said previously that I'm not interested in some 5 star culinary college, but that a community college will do just fine. This school is centrally located to the area that I'm probably going to be living. My best friend lives in Minneapolis & my girlfriend lives in St. Paul.

This campus is definitely the polar opposite of Iowa's campus. I'm really excited to apply here & see what happens.

A Stroll Down Memory Lane

In my very 1st post I mentioned that my friends & I cook a lot. We had inspiration from Paula Deen & other various chefs from the Food Network. Whenever we would get together we would cook, no matter if it was dinner or just a snack. Usually things ended up getting out of hand & that's where the camera came into play. Here's a look at some of our disasters with food.

Christmas Pretzels '07

Diggin' in Paula Deen style '08.

My hero.

Lee & Dee's grocery store. My friend Deanna & I always said that we wanted to run our own grocery store some day. We worked together at Fareway for over 4 years.

Mom, I'm not good at fractions.

"I'm an English major."
"Oh, are you going to be a teacher?"

"I'm going to go to culinary school."
"Oh, well aren't you an English major?"

These are the kinds of situations I find myself in about every week when I talk with people about my future. As much as I find the questions are assumptions irritating, the only thing I can do is use this conversations as motivation to accomplish the goals that I have set for myself. Yes, I'm an English major. I'd like to be a writer if I can. More specifically, I want to be a food critic. Thus, I'm going to culinary school.

My mom visited me over Thanksgiving. I didn't have the funds to travel back home so she came to Iowa City. We were discussing my plans for after school here at Iowa. It was such a nice relaxed conversation & she made some very good points about cooking, school, &  my degree.

She pointed out that I needed to assess & realize why math is so important in cooking. I haven't always been a fan of math. I'm not great at math & I become easily frustrated. I need to know why things happen, why certain formulas exist, etc instead of just doing the math problems. My mom taught me from a very young age how to "eye-ball" certain recipes, how to buy food at the store while on a budget by comparing prices & ounces, etc. She told me this past weekend that over the years that my love for cooking has grown & I seem to have forgotten the fact that I hate math. That all fades out of the picture when I'm cooking because I love doing it so much.

I thought this was a really great thing to think about as I'm moving forward with my life.

Grocery Shopping

For about two years now I've been participating in buying local and organic foods as wells as staying away from anything that happens to be processed. Living on a salary that permits me to barely pay my rent and necessary bills, sometimes ONLY choosing from the organic/health section is a task. I've seen Food, Inc & whenever I pass through the middle sections of the grocery store it makes me cringe. I pick my foods from only the outside walls of the store & only on certain occasions do I venture into the processed, artificially dyed sections.

When I eat healthy & stay away from processed foods my weight goes down...and so does the bloating. I feel so much more confident & have mass amounts of energy to hit the gym.

On Sunday I went to a local store here in Iowa to pick up the necessities & I felt SO guilty for not buying organic eggs, bread, & other staple items. I hope that once I get my financial aid refund check I can go & stock up on all natural products. One thing that I noticed & that made me proud as a young adult was the number of college kids reading the labels on items & discussing prices of the food they were about to buy. Whether they were shopping in the health section or not, it was still a nice surprise to see people my age interested in the foods they consume & how they effect your wallet as well as your body.

Culinary Schools

I'm looking into culinary schools in Minnesota. The school doesn't have to be anything special or fancy, I'm thinking more or less a 2  year program within a community college. I want to know basic knife skills/technique, etc. I am so excited to start looking around & deciding where I want to live when I move to Minnesota. Does anyone have any ideas or know of a great school?

Adsense?

Is anyone familiar with Adsense? I filled out an application for Adsense back in the day for my Tumblr profile, but was denied. Now that I'm serious about making some cash through this blog, I'm not allowed because of my email address. Has anyone gone through the process of filling out the appeal form?

Web Series?

In what ways would I add a web series to this blog? What would you be interesting in seeing?
Here's what I thought of:

-Demonstrating a certain cooking skill and/or technique.

-Question & Answer portion (If there happens to be questions posted by followers)

-Progression of what I’ve learned in culinary school

-Interesting information that I’ve learned in culinary school

-Include a family member to assist with a certain recipe that I’ve previously blogged about or an upcoming blog post.

 

Intellectual Property Project for my class, Creative Writing for New Media

My intellectual property project will be a personal narrative told through a series of recipes that shaped my knowledge of food and how those particular recipes have been an inspiration for attending culinary school and eventually wanting to be a food critic. I am choosing to share my information through a personal narrative because I feel that I can highlight my own personal story in a positive manner considering my major is Creative Writing. Using the form of a personal narrative and posting these recipes on a blog site enhances my writing skills. Additionally, it helps me get accustomed to posting my own writing on the Internet and experiencing both positive and negative feedback.

            The recipes that I’m focusing on will start from the beginning of my culinary interests, from when I was little and helping out various family members in different houses throughout my childhood up to the sort of meals that I cook today in my own apartment. I plan to incorporate visual aids as well- pictures of my family members and I cooking and step-by-step pictures of how to prepare your food. Also, as the narrative progresses towards where I am today with my cooking skills and knowledge, I want to add some videos that my friends and I have made while experimenting in the kitchen with different recipes to lighten the mood of the blog with humor. Most of our inspirations for recording our cooking episodes were taken from the Food Network. My friends and I have admired a couple of the chefs for their strengths to come from the bottom to the top, Paula Deen in particular. We have watched almost every episode of her show, bought her books, and cooked from her cooking books. I’ve always said that some day I’d to like be a part of a cooking show or write for a cooking magazine-this blog seems like the appropriate push that I need to get started with my goals.

            Cooking and preparing meals brings people together, not just families.  Cooking and learning about food is a great stress reliever of mine and a great motivation to be as healthy as I can be, even in college. Being in the kitchen and learning how to nourish my body definitely shape who I am today and has made me admire those people in my life who took the time to teach me to cook and those people in my life who made the effort to stay healthy. I think that most young people these days don’t have the chance to have good kitchen experiences, so I’d like this blog to be something that they can read if they’re curious as to how to make something for an active and hectic lifestyle or something that reminds me them of a home cooked meal. With this blog, I’d like to be able to tell my own personal story, but I also hope that when people read this, they’ll be reminded of certain foods that take them back to a favorite memory or a favorite person in their life For instance, if they read a blog post about my trials and errors in making homemade macaroni and cheese with my best friend, it may prompt them to pick up the phone and get in touch with their friends. It may trigger a certain feeling they had towards that particular food I happen to be writing about.

            An example of a blog post will be capturing the times that my father used to let me help out in the kitchen, even at a very small age. The recipe will be baking chicken and using “Shake and Bake.” All the ingredients will be mentioned and how to prepare the meal, but additionally, I’ll use a flashback story to highlight how my dad taught me to really “shake up the chicken in the bag and to use all of my muscles.” If I can, I’ll include a picture of the two of us preparing that meal.

            I’m choosing to use Blogspot.com to broadcast my food blog. It’s a well-known blog site and easy to access.  I’d like to continue working on this after Creative Writing for New Media while in culinary school to track my progress with learning the simple skills needed for basic meals and cataloguing the information that I’m learning in school. I think it’s a great stepping-stone into the memoir I’ve been working on. I want to make this into something regular and profitable - Blogspot is easy to maintain and works well with both Google ads and Google analytics since it is a Google product. Also, not only does food bring people together, but people are always bonding and communicating on the Internet. Ads on pages with high traffic make bloggers profitable.  Additionally, Google analytics helps you to understand your readers.  It will show me what they're interested in, which posts are read most often, how people find my blog, how long they spend on my page, how many other pages on my blog they click through, what their location is, etc. This kind of information is beneficial for me knowing how to design my blog in order to be accessible and entertaining. Google will tailor to my blog and my reader so the types of ads I’m likely to get will be cookware and kitchen items.

            To promote this blog I’ll reach out to my close friends that I have shared cooking experiences with and to my family members who helped shaped my culinary interests over the years. I have an abundance of Twitter followers that I know are interested in cooking and some that work in the restaurant field, so I can spread the word through them as well. My goal is that this blog will be my own story told through special recipes and pictures, but that it also can be a learning and teaching purpose blog.