Food for Thought!

My mother loved to cook which is a really good thing since she had eight children who loved to eat.    She also worked full time. I was one of the oldest children so a lot of the cooking became my responsibility. Not the “real cooking” mostly just putting a roast in the oven or preparing vegetables. At some point I moved up to mashing potatoes and even making gravy. Ah, I still remember those tasks and how vital they were to making sure everyone could sit down to dinner at 4:30. Food and dinner time was the focal point of everyday. A time everyone gathered and we shared our day, the good and the bad. We were a family and everyone was expected to be there. With seven brothers and sisters, who were always hungry, you’d better be there promptly. Dinner and the sharing of food became a tradition I continued when I had children of my own.

Then one day my children grew up and I realized I was still cooking for six people, the problem was they were all off having lives of their own and I still wanted to cook every night. I also realized I was cooking the same things I’d cooked for years. So one day I decided to take a leap of faith and try cooking something I had never cooked before. I bought a package of phyllo dough and thought I’d give it a try. I made a potpie using phyllo as the crust. I can still remember the shock I felt when it not only looked good, it tasted amazing and that’s where my adventure really began. I continued to experiment and soon became obsessed with food magazines, cooking shows and cookbooks

In 2005, I started entering the food contests at the State Fair, you know the one’s where you bring in a pie or some other food item and a panel of judges tastes them. I won a third place ribbon in the C&H cookie contest and I was hooked. A year later I entered the Hormel Spam contest at the fair and won first place with my Spam Potpie with a phyllo crust which went on to win the National Spam championship in 2007 and a $3000.00 cash prize. I continue to enter the State Fair and a couple of years ago I discovered on-line contests and started competing. I have won a few, lost many but I love to cook so I continue.

I started my blog in 2012 so I could share my recipes with family and friends. I started posting recipes and I found I really like to write about food and share recipes. I soon discovered there is a whole community of people who shared my passion for food and cooking. I also discovered cooking contests for bloggers and decided to give them a try. I entered The “Highbush Blueberry Council” blogging contest and won first place. I also won first place in the “Legends of Europe” contest. I continue to enter contests and love being able to share my love of food with a whole new audience.  

I competed in the World Food Championships in the Bacon Championship for 2 years in a row but I got sidelined last year when I was diagnosed with throat cancer. I was told I would need to complete 36 radiation treatments and 3 months of chemotherapy. I was devastated and then they told me the really bad news.” I might lose my sense taste.” Not good news for a “Die Hard Foodie.” It was a true reality check and I didn’t know if I would ever be able to compete again. It also forced me to look at what is important in life and to embrace every opportunity life has to offer.  I lost my sense of taste for about 2 months and slowly it is returning. I am so fortunate to have recovered so much. It has been slow but I am so grateful.

I am also ready to begin embracing my passion one more time and hope to be given the opportunity to compete in the “World Food Blogger Summit” conference” in Florida.