Cooking inspiration?

[SherryJ]

Hey Guys...

I was just wondering WHO your cooking inspiration is? A grandmother who was in the kitchen all day? Someone who could just "throw stuff together"? :)

I come from a long line of cooks... sounds like a country song in there, huh, LOL!!! ;) But, it's true! AND, they were the "throw it together/it tasted great" crowd!

Then, I got married... to a guy who became a professional chef for seven years! Little intimidating, IF I let it! HOWEVER, he's perfectly happy with WHATEVER I make!

Part of my challenge, as I may have mentioned in the May Challenge thread, is that I, personally, do NOT like to cook... if I never stepped into the kitchen the rest of my life, that would be okay... until the last couple of weeks! My interest and my curiosity have gotten the best of me!!

I also told you that my challenge is lack of preparation... what's for dinner on Thursday?? Saturday??? TODAY!??!? :D

The Challenge is helping me with all this... but, back to the question of my inspiration? Well, Mr. Wonderful, my DH, for sure! I can swear there's NOTHING in the house to eat... and, he can come in, and make a gourmet meal! It used to drive me nuts... now, I'm just in awe! :cool:

I'm also inspired by some of the cooking shows... Paula Deen makes cooking look FUN, a biggie for me, LOL! The "chef wars" also inspire me, because like Mr. Wonderful, they get a pile of ingredients and have to come up with something great!

Well, how about you? :) Who makes you want to be a better cook/chef/person in the kitchen?

Sherry

[gitfiddle]

Three people, Ottawa, Mitra and Relief. I am definitely the "throw it together" person and a poor planner. I'm the only low-carber in my house and I'm usually the last person I cook for, because I know that meat and veggies is all I really need. Therefore, I never get creative for myself. The other two are picky eaters who don't like to leave their comfort circle to try new things.

I have a challenge coming up, in that the school cafeteria is closing on Friday for the summer. I want to make and freeze lunches that I can grab every morning. If I don't plan ahead, I will be going out every day for lunch and eating fast food in my car. Expensive and dangerous! :paranoid: (I love this smiley!)

[Missy]

Hands down, the food network chefs have had the MOST impact on me personally. I've learned how to cook better because of them...and because I can sit and watch and enjoy.

I do have a great deal of "good cooks" in my family...but? I personally have "issues" with some of my family members because if I make something...someone will tell me how I could have made it "better":rolleyes: ...and that frankly frosted me!! :mad: So, I make what I do for my own personal enjoyment.

Plus, they cook "normally" and that means without consideration to health...it all TASTES good...but it's not good for me. So, I've recently (within the last year) began my own quest for cooking information....and found the first influence to be with the food network programs.

Now, cooking to me seems like a very fun hobby!!! :D We rarely eat out because I'm enjoying it so much. I'm not a gourmet, by any means, but I am having a blast trying "new to me" ingredients...wether it be these new ingredients that are low carb...or something as silly as a new vegetable that I haven't tried before!

[Donna7]

My mother-in-law and my husband's aunt have been the most inspiring to me. I grew up with a working mom and we lived on frozen dinners, but my husband grew up in a German farming family, and was used to lots of meat/potatoes/dumplings meals. They were used to cooking for a large family and/or lots of farmhands, so I learned a lot from them. Thankfully, my husband's favorite part of the meals he had growing up was the meat...so I can throw together lots of veggie side dishes (minus the potatoes) and as long as I have plenty of meat he's happy. He doesn't even really like pastas! Yeah! Over the years I've learned to love to cook and entertain (we also never had company when I was growing up, so that was a big change for me!); nowadays with some physical limitations I can't always spend much time in the kitchen, and that gets frustrating! I'm trying to put together a repertoire of really easy meals for bad days.
Even though we're not doing the potatoes and dumplings (oh, and cherry pie!!!!:eek: ) that I learned from my in-laws, I am still very grateful to them for the time they took to teach me to cook and enjoy it!
Donna

[Mitra]

Three people, Ottawa, Mitra and Relief. :o :eek: :o

I think the biggest inspiration for me is my husband who is a very appreciative audience, but also very observant, and aware of what he's eating. But my mother and my grandmother (my father's mother, who lived with us during my teenage years) gave me a basic confidence in the kitchen.

I enjoy cooking for other people, but I do cook even when it's just me - my husband was inquiring about a charred wooden spoon on the counter one evening, and was speechless when I explained that I'd set fire to it when I forgot to remove it from the pan when I flambeed my chicken livers in Armagnac for lunch (he doesn't like liver, and I do, so I have that sort of thing when he's not there). Anyway, it blew his mental picture of me sitting at home having a lettuce leaf and cottage cheese :D.

When I'm feeling tired, pottering about the kitchen picks me up, it soothes me when I'm stressed, and if we go away and I don't have a chance to cook for a week or two, I'll head straight for the kitchen and start playing as soon as we get back. If I'm bored, I'll go into the kitchen and make a few store cupboard things. But I still enjoy the occasional meal out - a slight break just stops the cooking from feeling like a chore.

I get ideas from lots of people, but writers who inspire me are Marcella Hazan and Deborah Maddison, both of whom I think are amazing in their ability to combine a few simple flavours in a way that just ... works.

But I think it's in my bones to love to cook :).

[cmcole]

My Dad, most likely

[Gaelen]

For me, it's mainly cookbooks that inspire me. TV chefs are my favorite entertainment, but when I'm looking for inspiration, it's my cookbook library that I turn to. It's portable, too--no TV required.

I've spent a lot of time in the kitchen; I had part of the responsibility for assembling and preparing family meals from the time I was 10 or 11, and that grew as I got older. By the time I was in high school, I was cooking for club gatherings and friends, in addition to my four very picky siblings and family dinners. ;)

Then for my sixteenth birthday, my youngest uncle gave me a copy of Anna Thomas' Vegetarian Epicure. I read the cookbook, and suddenly I didn't just want to cook, I wanted to cook better. Then came The Good Housekeeping Cookbook, Jewish Cooking, The Farm Vegetarian Cookbook, The NY Times Bread and Soup Cookbookand The Moosewook Cookbook.

All my cookbooks used to fit in one corner of the counter...now they don't all even fit in one BOOKshelf. ;)

[Bones]

Hey Guys...

I was just wondering WHO your cooking inspiration is? A grandmother who was in the kitchen all day? Someone who could just "throw stuff together"? :)

Well, how about you? :) Who makes you want to be a better cook/chef/person in the kitchen?

Sherry

Well, I don't know that a person is my inspiration. My mom was not that great at cooking and never encouraged us to get in the kitchen. I realized how much I liked to cook once I moved away from home and had my own kitchen, and needed to cook for my husband and myself. Luckily, I had a natural ability/instinct for cooking/baking. It's just grown from there...and collecting cookbooks became my hobby. So, I guess I would say that cookbooks and a desire to eat healthy, natural, home cooked meals have been my inspiration.

[SherryJ]

Oh, Carol! How could I have skipped over some of the best cooks in the world?!?!? YES, those that contribute here every day have definitely inspired me!!!

As for other things... cookbooks intrigue me, and make me curious, but to actually SEE stuff being made has a more lasting effect! ;)

Sherry

[kevinpa]

I have had many inspiration throughout my life including: wife, mother, sister, and cookbooks. But none that have inspired me to cook and eat healthy like Drs. Mike and Mary Dan Eades and their Low Carb Cookworx Show. I surely miss it in this area:cry:

[Ottawa]

"WHO your cooking inspiration is?"

My mom did all of our cooking cooking and it was simple fare. There are lots of inspirations but they are all higher carb for regular cooking. I have 5 LC books but have hardly used them since bringing them home.


My main inspiration has been this program . Following the Hedonist approach I want to maximize my senses with great flavor, getting the most out of each gram of carb or protein. If it is sweet, and rings in under 2 ECC I am hooked. I like the way that Relief and Moe would create a bun or a muffin that comes in at one or two ECC yet delivers great taste as well as some protein.

When I find something new (a carb bargain), like Zucchini, Golden Flaxseed or some types of Tofu products (don't knock it 'til you try it), I play with them a lot. KevenPA's Zucchini Apple pie looks amazing and I'll try it soon, sweet and will stir some memories.
The variations on using CarbQuick but extending it carb-wise with Ground Flaxseed or Firm Tofu always interests me so I tend to look for recipes that I could get a few servings of and still meet my carb limit.

Which of us baking a low carb cookie or muffin can stop at one? My wife might, but I'm usually in for a full 10 ECC's worth.:lol: 'Must be leftover habits from my donut days.:D

Ya just gotta luv eating this way.

[Bellgirl]

Wow... there are so many! My mom always cooked good meat and potatoes meals for us; and my dad had his weekly night in the kitchen (lasagna and a fabulous cabbage salad with horseradish dresing). Dad was also a big fan of fresh vegetables. Both grandmas were also good cooks; one did the Polish favorites, the other good old fashioned midwestern fare, like green beans with bacon and vinegar, and fresh gooseberry pie.

I remember starting to experiment in the kitchen when I was a teenager. When we were first married, I got into "Diet for a Small Planet" and the "More with Less" cookbook. We joined a food co-op; we ate lots of beans and rice; I baked my own whole wheat bread, and I even went vegetarian for awhile.

This WOE has renewed my love for cooking. My inspirations are Gaelen, Relief and Randy, along with the rest of you! I'm also inspired by Rachael Ray and Anthony Bourdain. "Kitchen Confidential" is a great read for foodies.

My sons always preferred pretty basic kid food, but my youngest grew up into a foodie. He just likes someone else to do the cooking! He still inspires me to cook because he enjoys my concoctions so much. Anything that starts out with garlic and onions sauteed in olive oil is just fine in his book!

[Relief]

My mom hands down. She was what I call now a great "plain" cook; nothing fancy but boy howdy did it taste good. she made the best gravy in the world ( now my own children say that about me--they will go anywhere for thanksgiving dinner with the provision that I make the gravy :D )and on holidays always made candy and pastries--like eclairs and fudge and toffee--the old fashioned way. She both spoiled and inspired me--I am used to what great food--made with real whole ingredients--tastes like. so both when I had a home of my own and later when I changed to this WOE I had to learn to make really great tasting food. I just wouldn't settle for "okay" . Thanks Mom!

[Bellgirl]

Deb, I am the Gravy Queen in our family too! The only time I have ever messed up the gravy was when my SIL tried to "help"... now it's a strictly hands-off policy!

[SherryJ]

Pst! Deborah, I LOVE the new pic! :) You just keep getting more and more beautiful...

Sherry

[Relief]

ah, shucks thanks :o I needed a new headshot for auditions this week and my sweetheart took this. I was really pleased with it.

[gitfiddle]

Oh yeah hey, that's cute! :nod:

[Gabriel Guzman]

While I get inspired to cook FOR one person;) , I do get inspired BY many things, especially places. I've cooked since I left my country to study abroad. The motto back then: 'if I don't cook, I don't eat... nobody does it for me', so it's been a must for me. But Billie is the most wonderful (and bravest) audience I could have to try my culinary experiments.

Now, however, somebody cooks for me... sometimes!:) (just kidding sweetie). We both love to cook and either take turns or just do the four hands concerto in the kitchen...

The reason I enjoy cooking is because I use it as a way to handle and release stress. I've noticed that I cooked a lot more when I'm under stress, especially now that the motto has changed to: 'If I want it, I make it...", whch keeps me from trash-eating out and saves us money as well. Another factor is the excitment of thinking of a bunch of ingredients with some general recibe behind and then come up with something unexpected yet delicious if possible.

Places that inspire me, I'd say Sweden and then my own country, some mediterranean places, Turkey, North Africa and some far away places like Thailand. People that inspired me because the showed that it's not really difficult to 'get dirty' and come up with something tasty... I'd say Emeril!:D I'll admit... too much watching Food Network around here:o ... We even make our own version of the Iron Chef, with secret ingredients and all... or maybe because of our new grill full of iron!:p

[Bones]

Pst! Deborah, I LOVE the new pic! :) You just keep getting more and more beautiful...

Sherry

I was going to say the same thing...beautiful!!!

[Billie]

Great pic Deborah!

Gabriel you sweetie! Thanks for letting me find those fun words! We do cook lots together, even if Gabe is cooking I am usually in the kitchen, giving "helpful hints"!! :D

My mom was a good solid cook, not fancy but really delicious home cooking. We have friends who enjoy cooking and good wines so that has really been fun to do more of and since Gabe is a scientist, he experiments on everything. Right now he has is back to making low carb biscotti, and I believe he's got it!

[Gabriel Guzman]

We have friends who enjoy cooking and good wines so that has really been fun to do more of and since Gabe is a scientist, he experiments on everything. Right now he has is back to making low carb biscotti, and I believe he's got it!

The kitchen is still in one piece, I'm please to report, and the biscoti was a success, with only 1-1.5 gr carbs and ~2 gr protein per piece. Now moving on to custard!:D

[Bellgirl]

Running over to look in the Recipe section to see if you've posted the recipe yet... ;)

[Gabriel Guzman]

Running over to look in the Recipe section to see if you've posted the recipe yet... ;)


Oh no Stevie, I haven't posted the recipe yet... but it's the almond biscotti recipe from the Eades' LowCarb Comfort Cookbook. I made both, the basic recipe and the variation that's even lower in carbs that uses soy protein powder (only I used soy flour) instead. You think I should post it?

[SherryJ]

I'd think it would be okay, Gabe... after all, it might sell more cookbooks for them! ;) (Or, is there an online link from one of their sources???)

Sherry

[Bellgirl]

I've got the cookbook... just looked it up! Any tips? It looks promising. I do love biscotti with my coffee.

[Billie]

Stevie it is great with coffee, you might even put a few blanched almonds in it--we were out when the experiment started! :D Gabe also made a chocolate frosting from the Eades cookbook as well for several of the ends, yummy!

[Gabriel Guzman]

I've got the cookbook... just looked it up! Any tips? It looks promising. I do love biscotti with my coffee.

hmmm... I normally follow the recipes to the letter at least once and then I tweak it! One thing I noticed, though, is that when I made the variation using soy flower, the baking times weren't enough and I had to bake the cut biscotti once more after the final 45 minutes. According to the recipe, the cut biscotti is baked at 225 F for 45 minutes but that wasn't enough. I think it's because the soy flour... the biscotti wasn't quite done in the middle so I baked them again at 350 F for 12- minutes and then they got nice, browish and crisp.

The main recipe worked just fine as it is described. The chocolate frosting is really delicious but you probably need to use very little on the biscotti so the carbs still keep low. After all, the chocolate frosty is made with confectioner's sugar. If you decide to try the frosting, you can use 1/2 cup of confectioner's sugar or even less instead of the amount in the recipe (I think is 3/4 c or something like that). I think we can get away with even 1/4 c of confectioner's sugar. Even though I'm using Ghanian raw cocoa powder (is as pure as it gets!), the frosting wasn't bitter at all. So, I think 1/4 c confectioner's sugar and a teaspoon of vanila do the sweet trick. You can always try after you beat it to see if you like it.

Good luck!!! I'm going to make some more over the weekend, this time adding some almonds to the mix and see what happens!:)

[kevinpa]

is this the recipe?
http://www.drdiet.info/diet-plans/protein-power/protein-power.php

http://www.drdiet.info/mediterranean-diet/mediterranean-diet-recipes/Biscotti.php

Biscotti
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 t grated orange zest
2 cups bleached flour
2 eggs (3 if eggs are small)
2 t anise seeds
1/2 t vanilla extract
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t almond extract
1/2 t salt
1 cup chopped almonds
1/4 lb butter, room temp
1 cup sugar

Heat oven to 325. Combine flour, anise seed, baking powder and salt and set aside. Beat butter, sugar and zest until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla and almond extracts. Gradually beat in flour mixture just until smooth. Stir in almonds. On a baking sheet, form the dough into two logs about 1 1/2" wide by 14" long about 3" apart. Partially cut or score into diagonal slices about 1/2 inch apart. Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Cool. Reduce oven to 250. Cut logs through on the previous scoring and put cut-side up on baking sheets. Bake until dried, 30-40 min.

[Gabriel Guzman]

I'm afraid not Kevin. The recipe is a lot simpler, though yours sounds good! I don't have the book right next to me right now but I'll post the recipe in the "Let's Cook" forum over the weekend.

[kevinpa]

Its not mine Gab, the first link I listed above was talking about PP and on the side in the green was a link for biscotti. I just thought maybe that was it.

I am making a version of that one right now though, so I'll let you know how it turns out.