My Cooking Experience

600 + miles away from my family, I decided to start making more foods from scratch!  My first attempt in the fall of 2007, just a few months into our marriage was an apple pie!

Isn't it beautiful?  I was so proud I even called my grandma :)

This experience helped me to realize that cooking from scratch isn't hard, and that I actually enjoyed it!

I started by stocking my kitchen, and then found a natural fit for me with menu planning. I'm a planner by nature (just ask Frog Prince), so picking meals and planning them came really easy to me. After just a few weeks that menu planning helped (1) reduce the stress around "what's for dinner", (2) know what ingredients I need from the grocery store, and (3) greatly reduce our grocery budget!

Cooking has become almost a therapy for me… I love it. It’s become a hobby during my time in grad school; it’s a place for me to be creative and try something new (and often with some success).

For someone who has a food allergy, God has blessed me by giving me joy in my kitchen. With my personal allergy experience, I’m always looking for ways to cook that allow me, and others with allergies to eat freely. Going out to eat can often be challenging when you have a food allergy, and as a result, I’ve found joy in food again by creating and experimenting in my own kitchen.

God has given us foods to enjoy and through my time in the kitchen, He has taught me more about myself.