Happy Cooking

Late last year I started setting up my kitchen to help me figure out what I needed to do to lose the weight for good.  To remove the processed crap from my plate I started making everything from scratch.  What I had apparently forgotten is that I truly love to cook.  I knew I loved to bake, heck I owned a coffee shop/deli/bakery for a while so my love for the kitchen was not a super surprise.  What I didn't know is just how much joy I could get from slicing and dicing foods, preparing them, adding seasonings, the amazing smells that would radiate through my house, and the looks on the faces of those I had cooked for when they taste my latest masterpiece.  This was an unexpected but very much welcomed side effect of being in the kitchen.

I do have to give a little credit to the tools which I have been using.  There is truth in the fact that doing something with the right tools can really make it easier which can lead to enjoyment of the act which can make you want to do it more.  While I had not seen myself as being a consultant for the company for life, I had sure planned on getting those amazing tools I had wanted in my kitchen so I could cook easier and have more fun.  Success.  My absolute favorite pieces are my knives.

There is just nothing more important than a good, strong, sharp knife that can really make the difference. Without one can struggle to get things properly cut up, lose the ability to have even sized items (not that it really matters to some but it is kind of fun to try), and most important it can be dangerous.  If a knife is not strong enough or is not sharp enough one can get serious injury.  I can't tell how many times I have cut myself trying to do something and the knife slips.  I even had one snap when I was cutting something, I think it was an apple, and the blade went flying.  Cheap is cheap.

So many people have said to me as I was doing a show or event, 'it's so expensive.  I can't afford that.'  What people fail to understand is just how much they are spending buying the cheap versions over and over again when they break or fail.  If you spend the money one time to buy a good quality knife that is backed by a lifetime guarantee, you will be spending in a lifetime of buying over and over again the same as buying quality once.  It took me a minute to wrap my head around this as well but it's true.  Spend your hard earned money on something that will give you the best results and last or be guaranteed instead of knock offs that will fail and fail and fail.

Now, don't get me wrong.  If you are not going to be using the tool a lot, if you are not going to be pushing it to the limits, enjoying using it, getting your money's worth out of it, don't buy it.  If you are only going to use something once or twice for a special occasion and then never need it again, buy cheap.  It's OK.  Just don't punish yourself by buying cheap on everything.

So by now you have noticed I have not mentioned the company name.  I did not start off writing this blog post as an advertisement, however, that is what it appears to have become so I guess I will go with it.  I am a Pampered Chef consultant.  No, this is not my day job but it has served me well, filled my kitchen with more than I will ever need of fabulous tools and gadgets to help me prepare foods and really get back where I enjoy being.  It has reminded me just how truly happy I am knife in hand dicing up foods, listening to the sizzle of the veggies in the pan as the heat brings their flavors to life, putting them into amazing dishes to feed friends and family.  It even paid for me to go on many trips this year for my other business as a photographer so I could capture some really amazing shots and as an artist so I could paint my beautiful paintings from those shots.  All in all, it really did help me in many aspects.  But the most important was bringing me back to the thing I didn't know I was missing.  My kitchen is my new happy place where I can make magic to share. 

Well, off to make another scrumptious meal.