When I was an undergraduate in college at the University of Florida, I spent many weekends trying to figure out what I wanted to eat in between exams. My good friend and I would laze about watching television just gawking at some of the food that world travelers and chefs had the opportunity to eat. Roasted things, sauteed things, boiled things, baked things, fatty things, spicy things. Dripping with butter and flavor. How could I not want to try these things myself? After a few oil fires and some complete failures, I started to get the hang of the art of cookery. I know that is sounds cliche, but the travel television of world cuisine truly awakened my senses from being dull and boring to curious and profound. I started my love of food and cooking then and it grows daily!
I was originally born in Chicago, IL...meat capital of the United States. How could you not love it? Sometimes, I wish I could move back just for the food now that I have such an appreciation for it's possibilities. After many snowed in Springs in my early childhood, my family finally got fed up and moved to South Florida. This is when I was about 7 years old. There, I made dear friends and learned to love the sun and the outdoors. I also became interested in helping people which is why I wanted to go to the University of Florida and become a nurse. My best friend died in a horrible car accident a few days before graduation, so I was going to college on my own. As I had hoped, I got into the UF nursing school, but the months crawled by in the first semester. I soon felt like my life was falling all around me. I wasn't eating, sleeping, or socializing. Is this how nursing school was supposed to be? Something didn't feel right. I found myself loving the conversations I had with patients, but was wishing to some higher power that bedpans would not be involved in my future. I decided to switch into something more holistic....health education. In that department, I felt much more comfortable, and I graduated with my Bachelors degree. It was during that time that I learned to love food. I finally had the time to appreciate it, and to tell you the truth, I think all that food fed my brain too!
Now what? Well, after graduation, I took my love for cooking and degree back home to find a job. Months passed and no job. Scouring the papers and websites seemed to be useless. By the way, I am part of that new generation of college graduates after the economy tanked. Great degree? No jobs. Finally I got a job working at Williams-Sonoma...The ultimate cooks shop. If I couldn't find a job in my field, I could at least do something I liked. There I expanded my love of cooking and even had the opportunity to assist in cooking classes. Grilled pork with honey chili peaches was one of the first dishes I ever got to teach. Unforgettable. Soon, I was at another crossroads..go to cooking school...or go back to UF to get my Master's degree in Health Education. I figured that I would always have food and cooking close to my heart. I didn't need a culinary teacher to tell me that. So, with the support of my loved ones, I went back to UF and got my Master's degree. In the process, I started a cooking club, threw sumptuous dinner parties, and sharpened my taste bud horizons. Now, I am a professor at a small college in Gainesville teaching Health Science courses and I love it. Just as I took my education to the next level, I am now also ready to take my cooking skills to the next level. Hence, I have started this blog to document my new culinary adventures. I want to share them with you and the Internet world.
I don't want to be the chick that writes about 10 minute recipes or budget recipes, or blah blah blah. I want to be the global cooking chick. The global COMFORT FOOD cooking chick. With limited funds, I may not be able to travel the world immediately, but I can certainly explore the world with a fork! I want to inspire others to eat and explore too.
My main message to all? Don't be afraid to try new things!!! The culinary world has endless possibilities. Our world is made of food...so don't limit yourself to such small territory. Expand! I never thought in a million years that I'd be sitting at my dinner table eating beef bone marrow on toast. You can get there too.
I love feedback and conversation so please do not hesitate to comment, recommend, and share your opinions on posts. Now...enough blabbering. Go explore the blog and start cookin!
- For my readers, my loving family, and Brentt.
Beth Kravitz
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