My Culinary Point Of View

We are foodies. We love to cook, we love to eat. The Food Network is my favorite channel. There are shows we watch religiously, shows we look to for inspiration and others that are just entertaining. I credit The Food Network for some of my cooking skills and all of The Hubsters. And I appreciate that they have created a 100% family friendly channel which has made culinary arts so "normal".

Right now a big show is "Next Food Network Star". The show has several seasons under its belt but we did not get on the boat until last year. Last night we watched the big premier show followed by the second episode. I make my pick for who I thought was going to win this year. (I called the winner on last years season premier!)  It got me thinking that I could totally be a contestant. It is one show where you don't necessarily have to be a trained chef or have years of experience in a restaurant kitchen. I looked at Mike and said, "I soooo should audition next year!" but then he asked me what my culinary point of view would be. This is something they really focus on through the season. It is really important and contestants have been cut because their vision was blurred or they swayed from their POV through their course on the show.

I was stumped a little. I mean- I am always saying "food is love" because in this house it IS! We cook with heart- even Jack. This two year old will whip up some beautifully confused plastic food meals at the play kitchen and offer it with everything he has. Once he serves it to you there is no turning him down. This little guy will persist until you "eat" it and tell him it was good. He especially likes to cook for Mike and it is typically when dad is the most busy. I usually have to back Jack up and encourage Mike to drop what he is doing and just eat the food... because food is love and Jack just served it up fiercely. And once you nibble on his lovingly prepared meal and tell him it was yummy, he tootles off with the cutest look of joy on his face! It is precious.

To Owen, cooking is serious business. Both in play and real life. I searched for a week for miniature kitchen utensils for him to use in the play kitchen because the play ones "don't work". When he stands on a chair along side me in the family kitchen he is steady and pays close attention. You can tell he is very proud of what he makes.

The younger girls are not as interested in cooking as much as they are interested in presentation. And that alone screams love. They realize that food is special and should be served in a special way. Each of them get it!

Our oldest is also extremely interested in food. So much so, that she is on the waiting list for a special culinary program offered in partnership with her school.

My food blogs are the most viewed of all of my posts. Food is a HUGE part of our life- it is a huge part of most people's lives. In this house, food is love. So... is that my culinary Point of View? Possibly. But if you read this blog regularly you  have learned that I like to cook from scratch as often as possible and feel that homemade is not as hard or time consuming as we all think it is. I am excited to share all sorts of tips and tricks that I have discovered that will help you bring good food to your table. Maybe that is my POV. Is that even a point of view? My mission is also to make wholesome meals that my family will love while having fun with food. I will spend some time fine tuning my POV, culminating these concepts into one fantastic concept that best captures my feelings about food being love and sharing as I go!

Would I love to end up on Food Network some day? Absolutely. Will I get there? I dono! I suppose it all depends on what is in my deck of cards. One thing is for sure- no matter what, I will always love to cook because food is love and cooking is something that has always been in me! Whether I share this love with my own family, the followers of my blog or people across America, lives are being touched and that makes me feel great!