Welcome to my blog!

I have always loved food and cooking. 

I know, I know, that is how most blogs of this nature begin.  But I do believe that you are either born with a love of cooking, or you are not.  Regardless of whether you enjoy spending time in the kitchen or not, everyone has to eat.  That means, sooner or later, you will have to find your way to the kitchen.  Unless, of course, you have an insatiable appetite and unlimited budget for take-away food!

I'm not really a fantastic cook myself, but I do like to cook.  Sadly, however, improvisation in the kitchen has never worked for me.  I always admire those "natural" cooks, who can conjure up a stunning meal using just a few things from the fridge and pantry.  Not to mention the contestants on Masterchef, who make fantastic food from a mystery box of ingredients.  My mom was that sort of cook.  She never followed a recipe and her food was always brilliant.  It was no use asking her to write a recipe down either;  it would be full of "a bit of this" and "some of that". 

When I cook, I use the billions of recipes developed by far greater cooks than me.  Most of the time, the results are great.  These are the recipes I would like to share with you.  Sometimes, I have found that adding a little something here or there, or leaving a hard to find ingredient out, also works.  However, I cannot lay claim to any of the recipes in this blog.  As the saying goes, "I stand on the shoulders of giants!"

I enjoy a wide range of cuisines, and hopefully, this will be reflected in the blog:  Indian, Italian, Spanish, French, Asian and of course, our beautiful local dishes.  I hope this blog will inspire you to cook something different, or maybe just a different version of something you know.

Happy cooking!