I'm A Good Cook and It's Time I Knew It

I'm A Good Cook and It's Time I Knew It

I was not always very talented in the kitchen. I didn't grow up with parents

who cooked. In fact, my mom cooked once a year, at Christmas. She used to say that it took her "Six months to prepare for it and six months to get over it." Hence, once a year.

So I never learned how to cook.

In my 20s I tried a few recipes but wouldn't pay enough attention and would botch them terribly by forgetting ingredients or switching measurements. I recall a recipe for a mushroom sauce that required 1 cup of water and 1 teaspoon of molasses. Yep! I mixed those two up and put in 1 cup of molasses and 1 teaspoon of water. Needless to say, I got take out that night.

So I have maintained this idea that I can not cook.

The truth is that I have become quite a good cook. I made a conscious effort to get better at it and actually started to enjoy cooking. Every meal I make now is edible and rather enjoyable. Some being more delish than others, but all 100% edible.

THREE things helped me to start enjoying my time in the kitchen:

3.) I can control all the ingredients in my food.
I make a lot of traditional foods, spaghetti, curry, stew, but I use healthy oils, organic ingredients and a lot less sodium and fat than a restaurant. I now enjoy my home cooked food MORE than a meal at a restaurant (never would have believed I would EVER say that) and it's a lot healthier. 


2.) I cook in BULK.
I make enough of any dish to last us a few days. This means more healthy and yummy food for the least amount of effort and a lot of savings in my pocket book. Plus, lots of healthy 'fast' food in the fridge just a microwave zap away.

1.) I cook my food with love.
I think about my family while I'm cooking. I think about how the healthy food I am preparing will nourish their growing bodies. I want my children to be as healthy and happy as possible. The food I am making is helping that to come true. I also believe in energy and the power of energy transfer. I transfer my energy and love into the food I cook so that it can be absorbed by my husband and children when they eat it. This makes cooking a lot more lovely.


Because I have still maintained this perception that I am not a good cook I never invite people over to eat, I rarely make food for friends or family. I have thought to myself, "they don't want anything that I cook."

I recognized this untruth in myself recently and have decided to get rid of it. I AM a pretty darn good cook these days. It's time that I admitted this.

My first step to letting the world know that I can cook is to take some of the Turkey & Lentil Soup (see recipe here) that I made to my neighbor. She is going through chemo and could use a healthy, delivered and home cooked meal.

I hope she enjoys it.


What old misconceptions are you holding on to? What ideas USED to define you but no longer do? Can you let them go and appreciate who you are NOW in the present?
I'd love to hear what 'old' thoughts that are no longer true you are holding on to. Please let me know in the comments below.