The cooks in my life

Mabuhay!

All my life, I’ve been surrounded by people who love to cook. I literally grew up in the kitchen watching my parents prepare meals everyday. Like some little girls, I used to bake cakes and cookies with my mom and sister. I remember my mom hoarding pre-mixed cake boxes from the States because they were easy to make and fun to decorate, but most of the time, we baked from scratch. It was fun, especially when we forgot to put sugar in the mix. It's sugar glaze time! Haha!

My mom and grandmother were also big on cooking. Whenever we had our family reunion, you could expect all the women in our clan to congregate inside the kitchen and whip up their specialties while catching up on each others lives. How wonderful is that?

My dad is also a great cook! He loves seafood. I remember when he had a fishing business; we'd go down by the waters and he’d cook grilled seafood and squeeze calamansi on it —simple yet amazing flavors!

Sunday brunch is what my siblings and I look forward to. We used to get up early on Sunday mornings, cook Maya pancakes, Vienna sausages, and prepare a special table setting for our parents. My dad would always whip out a jar of wheat germ and sprinkle it all over our food (no matter what it was... seriously, we use to eat it on rice, oatmeal, pancakes, etc. You get the picture) and would tell us "This is to get rid of the bad cholesterol in your food." He is a healthy eater and I think I'm slowly becoming one! Good job, dad!

Looking back, my siblings and I learned how to cook and bake as we grew up in a household where our parents made cooking fun and healthy. I want my kids to experience that too.
 
Now that my folks are living in the States, I miss cooking with them. I'm glad Tom loves to cook so we make everyday meals together.

I look forward to Aryanna cooking for us when Tom and I are older. She's already a good baker and can cook simple food.

Haha!

If you don't have anyone to cook with, or you don't know how to cook or if cooking lessons are not in the family budget, look for easy recipes on the internet and start learning! Make cooking with your family an occasion — it's the best way to teach kids how to cook, eat real food, and learn how to be around the kitchen.

Tip: Salt and flour are the best products to help put out accidental fires in the kitchen.

Here are some of the "cooks" in my life that inspire me everyday and I hope they inspire you too:

I judge a cookbook by it's cover. These are a few of my favorite cookbooks because they have good food shots and delicious recipes.

From left: Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld is great for cooking healthy meals for kids. She incorporates a lot of veggies into her recipe without the leafy taste. Let's cook with Nora Daza is my go-to cook book for classic, Pinoy recipes.
Rachel Ray's The Big Orange Book is packed with easy, flavorful recipes. I totally get Rachel Ray, not everyone does (some are annoyed by her) because like her, I have so much info that I can totally out talk (and out blog) anyone! Haha!

Here are some of Tom's favorite cook books:

From left: New Food by Jill Dupliex is one of Tom's favorite cook books. It has great photography, it's well-written, and has innovative yet delicious recipes. Barbara Kafka's Roasting is the book you buy if you want to know everything about roasting. The Mediterranean Prescription by Angelo Acquista, M.D. is a book with meal plans and recipes. This book helps you stay slim for life!

Small books, big flavors:

From left: Good Housekeeping The Great Christmas Cookie Swap Book is my go-to book during the holidays when my family and I cook cookies all-day long. Cook This Not That is something I wish I thought of writing. It has easy to follow recipes that cut the calories of traditional dishes that are usually packed with fat, sodium, and sugar. I subscribe to Readers's Digest because it's a good read. The 7 Meals That Can Change Your Life article was life-changing for me.

The men in my kitchen:

From left: The very first time Jamie Oliver came out with The Naked Chef Takes Off, Tom and I became instant J.O. fans! We love his food philosophy: "Food and healthy eating has always been about enjoying everything in a balanced, and sane way." Wolgang Puck is my mentor when it comes to glamorous and decadent cooking. He can turn an everyday pizza recipe into a sinful treat with caviar and créme fresh! Mario Batalli's Molto Gusto is now one of my favorite cookbooks! Authentic Italian meals that is easy to cook plus, I love reading his cookbooks as I learn so much about techniques, history, and other facts about cooking and food.

The icons:

I have yet to buy this book. I cannot believe that I don't own a single Martha Stewart book when I LOVE her! I do watch her shows religiously.

I love Julia Child! I've always wanted to buy her books but never got around to it until my husband surprised me this Christmas with the SIGNED first edition of both her books! I was blown away! I still can't believe I have them! They are old, worn-out, and they smell like they've been in the kitchen for a long time — best smell ever!

To date, one of my prized possessions.

All of our cook books have battle scars (read: food stains, oils stains, warp pages from the having the book close to our steamer, and lots of post-its stuck to the pages) from years of using them as references. I love it!

Bust out your cookbooks and start cooking! The only way you will learn is by trying. God knows how many cakes I've cooked rock hard and burnt meals. It's only by making mistakes that we learn how to do better.

I am going to try to cook Julia Child's Beouf Bourguignon this month. I have to prepare for this and find the best ingredients. Will update you about it. I'm so excited!

In our cookbooks, you will find handwritten recipes of Tom that he tweaked to make it his own. He cooks sophisticated dishes using the most basic ingredients. I will share some of his recipes soon.

Shoppingero/shoppingera, who has influenced you to cook? What's your favorite dish to cook?