The Return of Chefspiration!

I know it's been over a year since this blog has been active but I have decided to get back into it. Those who have been to my blog previously have already read this post...but I like it as a start to my blog. I will try to keep this updated daily and I will need as much encouragement and support through your comments left here. Any suggestions and criticism is most welcome as I will continuously try to improve on it. Also if you would like to see a writeup on anything in particular let me know! Thanks in advance for your support :)

It Starts....

You would probably think that someone who is writing a food blog and who is completely food obsessed grew up around kitchens and food enthusiasts. I, however, did not. Growing up in Indonesia we had cooks who cooked all our meals, and if it wasn't the cook it would be my mom in the kitchen. I did not even know how to cook till about 5 years ago when I was in college and moved into my own apartment. My options for food were bleak. It was either instant ramen noodles, cheap pizza with an almost plasticky cheese consistency, or... starve. When faced with such dire circumstances I decided it was time to learn how to cook. I started off easy, spaghetti with ragu tomato sauce, spaghetti with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, spaghetti with butter...I'm sure you see a pattern here...it was spaghetti in any possible way that required the least amount of cooking time. I did not like being in the kitchen! The very thought of it scared me. I was terrified at the possibility of poisoning or killing someone with my food because I had no clue how to handle it! But I once again got tired of the same meals and the lack of creativity. So it was time to learn something new, to venture out of my comfort zone. I was going to make a simple chicken breast fried in bread crumbs. Sure it sounded easy at the time, dip the chicken in egg and then roll it in bread crumbs and fry. It was the biggest kitchen disaster I ever faced, and whenever I think back to it now I laugh at all the ridiculously silly mistakes I made...but hey I couldn't help it..I was completely ignorant to the world of cooking!! Instead of telling you the whole story let me list all the mistakes I made...I'm sure this list will make you smile...maybe even laugh a little...now remember DON'T try this at home:

1. I was so terrified of bacteria(particularly salmonella) that when I took the chicken out of the package I put it in a bowl of warm water and I let it soak for 5-10mins to clean off.

2. I then cut all the fat off and then some meat that didn't look too pretty in the process until I was left with a few tiny strips of what I deemed to be edible.

3. I had no idea how long the meat needed to be fried and once again terrified of bacteria and poisoning/killing myself I cooked the tiny strips of chicken on high heat for HALF AN HOUR!!

Verdict: The chicken was completely disgusting and inedible!

The good thing that came out of it was my persistence in wanting to be able to give my boyfriend at the time a decent homecooked meal. So after many failed attempts I slowly became better at it. I was even inviting friends over for dinners where I would prepare everything from scratch. Soon enough what started out as a mere survival instinct became a passion almost borderline obsession. And now I want to take culinary courses and master some professional techniques. Until that dream becomes a reality I will be cooking meals to share with the blogging world, along with recipes, reviews of restaurants I've been to, and writing about all things food related. I hope you enjoy this site and any feedback will be much appreciated! I will try to keep it updated daily.