Cooking with Spice

One of my first baking memories was with my grandmother. She always made brownies and pancakes when I visited. I've always had a sweet tooth and an interest in science. So, baking was always something that intrigued me. How can you take something like flour, eggs, sugar, and oil that no one would eat together like that and turn it into something delicious like pancake?

It seemed like my mom was always cooking. When I was growing up, I liked to watch her cook especially when she was making one of my favorite meals. She was also patient to let me "help" her cook, which I'm assuming slowed her down a bit. In my childhood, I did learn how to make hamburgers, mashed potatoes, meatloaf, and green bean bundles for the holidays.

I became really interested in cooking in high school. I new that I would go off to college, so I needed to learn to cook to survive on a college budget. In my 20's, I had a roommate and best friend that was not picky at all. She introduced me to new foods, restaurants, and recipes. I took a few cooking courses in my undergraduate Dietetic programs. My freshman year of college, I was living in a dorm without a kitchen. When I moved to a condo off campus my sophomore year, I was happy to have a kitchen where I could create. Cooking has always been a stress-reliever and a creative outlet for me.

This year, I received many cooking-related gifts. I invested in some cookbooks. These cookbooks have renewed my interest in cooking and challenged my to try new things. Some of these new things include spices. Since I grew up in Louisiana, I am familiar with garlic, cayenne, and Louisiana spices. These new cookbooks gave introduced me to a ton of new recipes and will provide many opportunities for learning, tasting, and trying new things. Some of the new things include trying new flavors and spices. I bought several new herbs and spices to cook with: ginger, crystallized ginger, sage, cardamom, thyme, and mace. Stay tuned as I try new recipes, new spices, and kitchen tools. I'll share some recipes and results. To follow my journey to cook 50 new recipes in 2015, search #50RDrecipes, #NYNR, or #NewYearNewRecipes.

I hope that you learn a little something from the blog. For more information, recipes, and tips and tricks for healthy eating, follow RDtipoftheday on on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and you can subscribe to this blog, RDtipoftheday.blogspot.com, through BlogLovin.