My Very First Blog!

Hello All...(it's probably just one of you),

Due to my extraneous time brought on by my unfortunate participation as a casualty of the current economy...AKA laid off, terminated, fired, eliminated, unemployed...I have decided to start blogging my recipes.

I've never done this before so forgive me if links and images don't load correctly. Any insight or suggestions are appreciated. And if I violate any copyright thing, I apologize ahead of time...I'm just doing this because I'm bored, not trying to make money or whatever off someone else (I'm talking to you Nelly Furtado and management!)

Since I've had so much more time on my hands, (one can only apply to so many jobs a day)... I've been cooking...ALOT...some recipes are ones that just pop into my never-stop-running- head of mine, others are inspired by what I've seen e.g. mags, websites, Food Network (one of my favorite channels). I will try to tell you where I got the original recipe from or what I am basing it off (sometimes, it's from my dad's own head!). I'm also going to make an effort to get prices of everything to help for those budget-minded...

Many times when I see a recipe that seems interesting I usually start figuring out what I can do to make it healthier or more organic. Most of the time, I think it comes out tasting better...though I have to admit, the ones that call for butter tend to have that je ne sais pas flavor, but if you don't add that much or not at all, you don't even know you're missing it=) That said, instead of Paula Deen's admirable habit of throwing a whole stick in, I do try to see how little fats and oils I can get away without compromising flavor...because fat IS flavor as I learned in my prior life selling meat (animal meat, not the illegal kind>)....)

So a few of disclaimers for those who are looking specific recipes or ask for ANY recipe...

Measurements-I've grown up watching my dad cook. He can eyeball pretty much on the dot and I like to think I have that ability, but I also like to improvise, mixing it up as I go, so when it comes to measurements, I start out with an idea, start conservatively, then add to taste...BUT, I promise to get measurements down as much as possible.

Seafood- Allergic... I know, it sucks big time...what Asian can't have seafood?! What makes it worse is I've DEVELOPED this stupid allergy so I've already tasted the goods so I KNOW what I'm missing...what yummy abalone tastes like and velvety shrimp and fluffy scallops taste like. it's been so long that I'm not even sure if that's what the mouthfeel is... so no seafood recipes unless I get a real goody from my dad to pass on...occasionally I will throw canned tuna recipes because apparently I can have that (in small quantities). Some recipes should be transferable to fish and I would encourage trying it...

Salt- I am pretty sodium phobic, as I always believe that you can always add more salt, but you can't always take it out after you put it in...I'm a big fan of using natural flavors ( I know, I know salt is natural) like garlic, shallots, onions ginger etc...plus people tend to add salt automatically before they even take a bite (technically an insult to the chef). So for those salt-philes out there, you may want to add more salt than I state in the recipe...unless otherwise noted.

Cuisine- I like to make fusions with different cuisines, taking the best of all worlds, Mexi-Asian, Cal-Italian, Germ-Indian., Mexicalifrenchilicious...just kidding=). But not all will be fusion, and some will call for specific ingredients from specialty stores. I will provide substitute ingredients where possible since I realize not everyone has a Ranch 99 near them.

So. I should be posting my first recipe after I finish taking the pictures and refining the recipe measurements, hopefully by the end of the weekend.

Sorry about the long intro...
Looking forward to your comments...=)

Cheers,
DD