what is your background with cooking/food?
i never cared to learn how to cook as a kid, as a teenager, as a young woman, as an adult woman. i found it boring and unnecessary, especially because ethan was such a good cook from an early age, i just didn’t think the family needed three people who knew how to cook well. i didn’t find it important enough for me to learn or pay attention to while my mom was cooking. but i have always loved food. my family instilled a deep love for good food, sharing a really good meal together, trying everything, ordering too much rather than too little and truly appreciating hunger and a good appetite. my mom showed love for us by the meals she made or by putting kimchi or korean style anchovies on our spoon with her chopsticks for each bite. ethan made me meals at some of the lowest points in my life that made me feel so cared for. food is love and my family has always made that feel true and real.
i decided to learn how to cook when i was 30 years old because i was tired of not knowing how to make anything really good for myself. i had just quit my job, i made an impressively inedible pasta the month before, i had the time and i finally wanted to learn. maybe it was me growing up a bit. i watched a lot of bon appetit on youtube, i spent a lot of time reading cookbooks and a lot of the day in the kitchen just playing and making mistakes. so i don’t have a lot of background in food or cooking. very little, to be honest and i’m okay with that. i don’t have dreams of opening a restaurant or even cooking in a restaurant. i just know food and cooking are things that have brought a lot of happiness and calm to my life and it feels good to be able to take care of myself and others.