I never really had the passion for food especially for cooking, as you can see in my very petite built.
My tongue didn't have the pleasure of tasting "good food" especially those with mayonnaise. I also practically grew up eating "dry" food - deprived myself of any "sawsawan" you can think of. I can't tell what the ingredients are for a particular dish. With all thes, you know how poor I have been when it comes to cooking.
Aside from frying eggs and cooking rice, I didn't have a real encounter with kitchen stuffs until I started living alone in Japan. Due to high cost of living, I opted to cook my meals instead of frequently buying from
konbini, (convenient stores) fastfood chains or restaurants. Due to limited knowledge about what to cook, i got help from fellow officemates and of course, Mr. Google. But even with these help, my dishes are only for my taste! Adobo, sinigang, mixed veggies, menudo, curry, were my most frequent dishes. Compared to others, my creations barely passed their tastebuds.
I remember one time, when our
sensei requested to have a taste of our dishes. I prepared sauteed vegetables with ground pork. When she tasted it, she described it as
fushigi na aji (mysterious taste!!!). I guess that's just her way of giving constructive criticism. ;P
We also had a Saturday night pigout session with ex-officemates before. We were grouped in pairs, each Saturday, one pair is to prepare food for everybody. And when it was our turn, I remember everything was prepared by my partner, Mai, while I do the mixing, frying, etc.
When I got back from Japan, I did not cook anymore. My simple corned beef didn't pass my family's taste buds, so I left all the cooking to my siblings and my mom. Fast forward to 2010 yearend. I got inspired by how easy the dish prepared by my boss during the birthday celebration of her husband, our President. So out of the blue, I decided, I'll prepare that for Christmas!
And so here are my creations for the holiday season:
baked cream dory
chicken breast wrapped in bacon
*my mom placed potatoes to improved the taste - was very salty at first!
carbonara sauce
* followed instruction of my beautiful sister :D
sauteed mixed vegetables
I hope this new found excitement for cooking won't fade. It's about time to get a little bit domesticated. Am already halfway through my life! Might as well try to make this a hobby. :) I believe this is a another reason why the universe conspired to give me a work near my place. I could do more than my usual stuff.
New year. New beginning. :D
