Anyone Can Cook...If They Can Follow A Recipe!

Do y'all remember the line, "anyone can cook", from the animated foodie film, Ratatouille? Such a good one. We love it, and own the DVD. (Yep, we're old school!) I totally related to the character, drawn to food, but unlike Remy the Rat I didn't cook much.

I have little recollection of cooking much while growing up. Other than occasionally making homemade sugar cookies with my mom when I was young, which I loved. In my tween years I remember fixing a fair amount of Hamburger Helper after learning to brown ground beef. But I never really learned to cook a whole meal until I was married, at age 21.

Spring 1997, me and Jeremy outside our college music classroom.

Jeremy and I married a couple weeks after graduating from Bridle College... er, I mean Bible College. Just three months in to marriage we were recruited to lead music and help pioneer a new church, so we moved south. From Ohio to North Carolina. I do not recommend this, at all. I don't mean the North Carolina part, it's a beautiful place, though quite hot in the summer. I mean the uprooting after just three months of being married part. Big mistake. But I digress. A lesson for another day.

As you probably know, the South is known for its rich and flavorful cuisine. Southern cooks are also known to be "heavy handed". I asked a co-worker, who was a native Carolinian what that meant, she reported in her cute southern draw, "Ya know, heavy in the hand... li'l more butter, li'l more sugar, li'l more of... whatever makes it taste good!" Ah! Got it. That definitely explains sweet tea, which I quickly learned to love and make at home. Still do, just with honey instead of gobs of refined white sugar. This "heavy handed" State is where I learned to cook, y'all. (And, where I picked up the habit of saying, "y'all" vs "you guys". It saves time, not to mention rolls of the tongue a li'l sweeter.)

Hosted at this brand new, North Carolina church (in a rented vacant chapel), where we were leading worship, were monthly carry-in luncheons after Sunday service. At these feasts I discovered just how delicious southern, heavy handed cooking could be, y'all. Wow! I mean who knew? Not this West Coasty who grew up outside of Seattle, in the days of low fat food, and consequently, low flavor, low nutrients, low everything. Boo! So, speaking of Ratatouille, you know, the scene where he tastes some fancy cheese for the first time, then he sees pure magic, and is taken away in euphoria? That's kinda what it was like for me at every Sunday luncheon. Praise the Lord (with hanky wavin')!

I very quickly began asking the church ladies to share their Southern secrets with me. Over time, I collected a stack of stellar recipes. (Ones like some pretty amazing deviled eggs, potato cheese soup, corn casserole, sausage stuffed mushrooms, and actual macaroni and cheese.) So much creamy, cheesy, ooey-gooey goodness, y'all. Jeremy and I both were in foodie heaven. And I grew to really enjoy cooking at home. I made my husband and I (no kids yet) mostly scratch meals several times a week, and that made me feel really accomplished. I was a legit home cook. And over the months and years there in the South, I learned that anyone can cook. My progress was proof. I gained confidence that my dishes were tasty too. Dishes I could be proud to serve others.

I suppose, at least at the beginning of my cooking journey, I didn't really learn how to cook, as much as what to cook, but that was totally ok. Following recipes, shared from seasoned Southern belles, was a great starting point of making really tasty meals. Over time, with lots of practice, I began to observe why certain things worked, even though I couldn't put words to why. My younger sister, on the other hand, learned how to cook from watching tons of the entertaining and sciency TV Chef, Alton Brown. We love Alton! We watched him regularly for our homeschool Home Ec class. I still watch and enjoy those Good Eats DVD's with my foodie son.

So, all that to say, if you don't yet feel confident in your cooking, just ask your friends for the recipes of the dish they made that you loved, then give it a go. You'll probably be surprised how simple cooking can be. Before long, you too will be a confident cook. I encourage you to not let timidity keep you from asking people for their recipes. Most folks are honored and happy to share, pleased that you truly enjoyed what they made. Or, check out a couple cookbooks from the library (I told ya, old school... I absolutely love a real cookbook in hand) that have recipes that look tasty to you. Then have some fun. I dare you!

Very Warmly, Heidi

"Taste and see how good the Lord is! The one who takes refuge in Him is truly happy!"

Psalm 34:8