Welcome Omnivores!

I'm creating this blog because I love food.  All food, and hopefully so do you.  I've got a little over 26 years of eating above my belt –pun intended– and most recently I've been trying my hand in the kitchen.  One of the things I would like to convey in this blog is my desire to use fresh ingredients, and to make as many food items at home from scratch.  It became evident to me, after my interest in food went beyond digestion, that many of the food items we use to "cook" can be made at home from scratch.  Items like Mayonnaise, ketchup, BBQ sauce, salad dressing and various other condiments are made from basic ingredients in a basic formula.  If you've ever looked below the nutritional facts on a food label and actually scanned the Ingredients –and I'm sure you have– you were most likely confronted by a litany of words that sounded more appropriate for cleaning supplies than food.  Most of these things are preservatives.  The good thing about preservatives is that they allow food to last longer, on the shelf as well as in your fridge.  But if you're anything like me, part of you has always felt uneasy about ingesting all these chemicals.  Maybe you have gone down the organic road, this is great.  I myself prefer organic, my only issue with organic foods is their price tag.  It can be expensive to always shop for 100% organic products.  In making these basic household ingredients yourself you can save money and enjoy the rewarding feeling of becoming a little more self sufficient.  The cool thing about making your own condiments and sauces is that when you cook with your own ingredients, your getting a lot closer to the truth when you say you've made a "homemade" meal.  In my opinion if your using condiments and sauces that came from the store, your food is not entirely homemade.  Another benefit of this mindset is that your food comes out tasting more unique, with more subtlety and reflection of your individual taste as an eater.

This is not a blog on how to cook, believe me I am nowhere close to being qualified to teach the culinary arts.  I have no formal training other than home study of cookbooks, TV shows, trial and error and trusting in my palate.  This blog is just a way to document and share my fun and experiences in the kitchen.  Most likely i will be sharing recipes and formulas in photo and written form.  I hope to create and share food fundamentals, like condiments and sauces as well as whole dishes.  Recently I've been bitten by the fatty bug that goes by the names of "Charcuterie" and "Salumi" that's right, naturally preserved and salted cured meats.  These products are found in the dishes of almost every culture and region and it doesn't get much more homemade than making your own sausage, duck confit or salami.  Hopefully you're just as curious about making food from scratch as I am and we can share our success's as well as our failures –in hopes to not repeat them– and in turn become more knowledgeable and self sufficient eaters.  Until the next post, hopefully there will be fewer words and more pictures.