Who Can Bake & Cook?

In My Opinion, Anyone Can.

 

Just a quick note on how I feel about naysayers in the kitchen.

Culinary Art. It is called this because anyone can cook. Now I sound like Gusteau from Ratatouille, I just realized, but it is none the less true. 

In recent years, our kitchens have burst into a larger than life industry. The Food Network, with all kinds of reality cooking competitions as well as the old more traditional set of a straightforward cooking show, has really changed the general public's food perception. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the channel, the shows, and the free magazines I get from grocery stores and the liquor store and such. I love the awareness in general as I feel people should delight in food and not just eat it for sustenance; man cannot live on bread alone!  However, there is a down side to all this. Suddenly everyone with cable is a 'foodie'. Again, I am a 'foodie' too I guess (though I never use the term), so don't feel judged, it's just that with everyone walking around as self professed experts, it could be a little daunting to a novice in the kitchen. Fear of failure is the last thing a person in the kitchen should be concerned about. As I mentioned, it is called an art. Art appreciation is subjective. Cook to your own taste, and if you don't like it, fine. Personally I'd still offer it to my husband to see if I can spare the waste, but throw it out if you really want to, and then try again. Or perhaps you can still work with what you have and make something else! The point is, If you like it, it is good. I really believe that this is true. And 99% the time when I am inspired to combine flavors that I think in my head will taste great, but I also think an 'expert' might *gfaw* at me for even suggesting... the result waters my mouth and everyone who tries it. 

Realistically, everything probably sounded peculiar once, right? Once upon a time someone looked at a shaft of wheat, and thought hey, maybe I will get that inner bit out of the casing and grind it up and then I will take this white stuff from the cows teet and this thing from the chicken coop, and some of that stuff from the beehive and I will bake it up. I wouldn't be surprised if that kind of thing got some people shunned from the table... until of course the bread product was tasted.

So go ahead. surely the idea you were thinking of didn't sound that bizarre. :)