Cooking How To, For You

   Hi, I'm Sarah Grace and I am a garlic addict. Garlic will always be a love of mine. I begin almost every meal with sauteed garlic and onions. My husband likes to add that I probably have olive oil running through my veins. It's actually a problem sometimes because I show up to places smelling like an Italian restaurant. I once had a lady at a garage sale ask me if I used a lot of Italian spices in my house, after smelling my yard sale items (queue awkward and embarrassed stare). *Disclaimer, she still bought the items. The reason for this post is not to give you a window into my sometimes awkward life, but to explain how I learned to cook and how you can too. The best advice is to watch others, ask questions, and taste everything at each step. Learn the taste of each ingredient. I used to dip my finger in the spices as a kid to taste each one and can now recall flavors when I'm eating at restaurants. Some may say its a super power to know what's in the food you're eating...I say it comes from years of tasting each individual ingredient. I learned to love food and where it comes from by watching Food Network and helping my parents cater when I was younger. Every time we'd go to my Italian Grandparents house for a get together there would be platters of food on every table. All the meat and cheese and veggies you could imagine. My Grandpa would always have a fresh batch of my favorite chicken fingers fried up just for me (#spoiledmuch). I have a lot of sweet memories of family serving food as an expression of their love. If you could, stop and take look at the individuals who genuinely give you a piece of their heart when they serve you food. They care about you and use their cooking as a sign of love and creativity. Hopefully that glimmer will inspire you to want to enjoy the joy of cooking and sharing. Start watching cooking videos, reading books, and following food blogs. I'd start with your favorite foods to excite you to cook and create even more. Also read, read, read through recipes and cooking books. In Addition, there are so many amazing people to watch on Instagram and other social media sites cooking up simple and delicious recipes. These people make it fun and easy to follow. I follow a lot of them on my Instagram account. Find me on Instagram at RosemaryandGrace . Hopefully, I'll inspire you with my recipes as well. Keep tasting, watching, and trying. It's taken me a lot of failures to be so comfortable in the kitchen so don't get discouraged. I'm still learning and tasting too! It's the joy of cooking, always learning and creating. Cooking truly is a fun art.