The First of Many... And a little about the cook

Howdy y'all! So welcome to my blog! This blog was formed as an inspiration to share my writing as well as to share with you one of my passions for life - cooking. Here I will be sharing recipes from myself, as well as from my family and grandma's secret book, also from one of my personal inspirations, Ms. Paula Deen, a.k.a. The Lady. I'll be using a combination of my own contributions as well as from her new Southern Cooking Bible.

Here is a little about myself:

I am girl. I am single. I am cook.

Well, now I’m sure you’re thinking this is just the recipe to get married!  So does my mother, grandmother, and so on and so forth. But here is the reality: I’m a young single adult with ambition and a newfound love for cooking and loving life. 

That’s the beginning and end of my story (for right now…). I am often referred to among my friends as the “mom” of the group. I cook and take care of everyone as if they were my own. I pretend to take offense to the label, but in all reality, I love it! I love that I can be there to take care of them and to be associated with something very dear to their heart. Moms are the ones who taught us everything that we know, whether we are willing to admit it or not. I’m even admitting that I’ve had my fair share of under my breath mumblings of “you’re right, mom” with the obligatory, make no eye contact, look-away glance down. I’ve got to try and keep some pride intact, ok?

Anyway, back to the story… so I’m a girl. I grew up on a farm, in an environment where the women in the household were primarily the cleaners, cookers, and child raisers, etcetera. Very Little House on the Prairie. Now call me old fashioned, but heck - that’s what they did, no ifs ands or buts. I can’t recall ever seeing my own father cook unless it involved a dutch-oven or a waitress. And to see him wash a dish? Don’t make me laugh! I really struggled with this concept growing up. I wanted to be with the boys out in the field and getting dirty, not stuck at home. That was sooo boring! But maybe my parents weren’t all that awful, because now I have grown very grateful for the skills that I learned cooped up in the house. I can scrub a toilet to sparkle like a porcelain treasure chest, vacuum like I’m an Olympian sucker, and cook to keep my man happy.

Wait! Did I say man? That was just a slip of the tongue. That’s where the single comes in. I’m still working on finding the man whose stomach (aka heart) is connected to my cooking. I have discovered over the years that however much my parents, grandparents, and culture emphasize how my happiness is connected to my getting married, happiness has to be found from within first. Along with this discovery, I have picked up a few things along the way and am still learning. 

So climb on in and continue this bumpy journey along with me, it's gonna be a delicious ride.