Welcome to my cookbook

So I cook. Sometimes I cook because I want to and I enjoy the creative process. Sometimes I cook because I have friends coming over and I'm too old to serve them Domino's without guilt. Sometimes I cook because I'm hungry and don't want to spend money on a takeaway.

But the point is, I do. And so should you. I think that cooking is more than just a way to fill our bellies--it is a way to make our houses into homes. It is where we put a stamp on who we are as adults. Too grand a thought? Perhaps. Nonetheless, it's true. :)

People tend to develop their own cooking style after they've started to feel comfortable in a kitchen. Me, I tend to cook filling meals that are healthy and economical. I have a weakness for a bargain and for foods that keep. So when you're looking at my recipes, expect that you'll see lots of dried pulses and canned produce. You can figure that my meals are either exceedingly healthy, or can be made so with a few tweaks. You can also figure--unless I say otherwise--that my recipes are meant to be kept as leftovers, frozen, or made into something else the next day. I am a farm girl at heart, still. You can expect to see this in my food.

Because my style is not for everyone, you will be seeing some other cooks showing up--perhaps you will want to submit a recipe yourself. I love having guest cooks because we can always learn something new--and other styles of cooking can be just as much fun. There will be some recipes up from Pnambic--he is German and he does a daily shop for ingredients, so his recipes will give you a whole different flavor from mine. Rolle is Finnish and has a taste for more elaborate, higher quality ingredient lists. He's a good one to follow when you want to plan a dinner party.

Alongside my own recipes and those of my friends and guests, I will also put up a few helpful hints--I will show you what to do with those strange ingredients in the shop that you aren't sure of the name of, let alone how to use. Marrowfat peas? Simple as pie, once you know.

As always, if you have any questions or anything you would like to see, please do leave me a comment or email me. Let's get cooking.

This is Day Two of my recipe page, so please bear with me while I get everything up.