When I started out I had an idea of what I wanted to blog about. Food was not one of those ideas but lately I've found myself really enjoying cooking, tasting and learning more about food. So now, in the spirit of writing about my own experiences, I'm going to invite you to join me on my culinary journey.
I've always basically known how to cook. I grew up helping my Mom make supper and in my last few years of high school I took on the entire task for myself but my familys culinary preferences were pretty much restricted to meat and potatoes. We ate well but food was not something that you played with or were really adventurous about. In fact it's only been the past couple of years that my Dad has tried and will consider a dish that contains rice as the staple ingredient a real meal.
I guess it's safe to say that I was pretty content with my familiar palate of tastes and smells for most of my childhood but there comes a time in a young woman's life when the daily scoop of mashed potatoes makes her dream for a little bit more flavour and flair. Just in time my dreams were answered by an opportunity to travel for a year and serve in 11 very different nations (1 country a month) as a missionary as part of a program called The World Race.
The Race opened my eyes to an entire world of brand new tastes, sights, smells and experiences that touched every part of my life. One of my biggest fears before I left was the food. I was terrified of having to eat dog, monkey brains, spiders, rat - you name it, I was certain it was going to be on the menu - and leading up to my trip I lost a good deal of sleep about it. It turns out that the food choices in other nations, while occassionally bizarre and at times a little dangerous, are more often than not incredibly good.
With a years worth of food adventures under my belt I came back home to Canada and started a brand new job working as a Casual Support Worker in residential and work related programs in my city. Suddenly I was working in people's homes and having the ability to cook and to teach other people to cook became an important asset for my job. Since I started in January I have had the chance to cook and try a wide variety of foods that I have never before been brave enough to try. I've had a few near misses but I've also had a lot of success along the way and I've learned a lot in process.
In the end I've discovered that I really enjoy cooking. I love playing with different spices and the challenge of healthy eating. It genuinely makes me happy to explore different tastes and attempt to make something new and exciting. So I suppose it's safe to say that from time to time I will definately be writing to share with you stories about the amazing or frightening things that I've been cooking lately in the kitchen. Like, for example, my hunt to discover the secret to creating lasagna that is both creamy and delicious which I must sign off to attempt right now.
But until we meet again check out this picture of deep fried tarantulas in Cambodia. This is not one of my photographs but I did witness this little delight. I passed over the opportunity to try a few of these little beauties while I was there in February 2011 but according to one of my team mates they taste just like a hairy chicken and a little added peanut butter makes them fabulous!
Check out my World Race blog (www.nicolepearson.theworldrace.org) to read more about the places I went, the people I met and the things that I did while I was there.
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