In the Beginning...

In the beginning, we all start with basic nutrients in order to survive.  Think about it, from the time we're conceived, we are fed nutrients to help us grow to full term.  Whether we are given the right nutrients, that's a whole different topic in itself and not the purpose of this blog.

I was born into two different cultures, but more so into a multicultural smorgasbord of foods.  My father, a proper Englishman in all accounts, had traveled the world quite a bit before meeting my mother, who is Javanese Indonesian, who had also traveled the world quite a bit before meeting my father.  Between them, their pallet of food is one of diverse richness.  At the same time, growing up, as a family, we rarely ate seafood since my father just "doesn't like the taste."  So much for being English since England is, after all, known for their cod fish and chips with malted vinegar wrapped in newspaper.

Having said all of this, my food pallet was already a multicultural smorgasbord of foods from the very get-go.  Fortunately and unfortunately, I have developed a taste for not just food, but good wholesome food.  I don't go to fancy restaurants to get this experience, but go to my local supermarkets and pick up the necessary ingredients and try making the "fancy" stuff at home for WAY cheaper.

Hence the purpose of this blog.  At the beginning of 2013, I found myself wanting to become a better cook after re-watching Ratatouille for the umpteenth time.  After all, Auguste Gusteau, claimed, "anyone can cook."  I knew I could cook since I haven't died from starvation OR gone completely broke from eating out.  I wanted a challenge, and I also found myself wanting to give my boyfriend the gift of a multicultural smorgasbord since he grew up in the Midwest and always claims that his bland pallet is because of the Midwest.

So we came up with some rules for my cooking challenge of 2013:

• An ingredient a week will be chosen and I must prepare one dish containing that ingredient
• Specifications on how to prepare that ingredient is not required
• Type of dish prepared with that ingredient are allowed; for example Italian versus Indian
• All food must be from scratch and not prepackaged boxes; for example, mac and cheese from store bought box
• Dishes can be picked from a cookbook rather than a solo ingredient but I am not allowed to pick that dish (in other words, if it comes from a cookbook, the Guinna pig, aka boyfriend has to pick the dish)
• Once a week, the ingredient or dish is tested (prepared, cooked, and served)
• A type of beer or wine must be paired with the ingredient or dish (if appropriate) 
• Final cost of prepared food must cost under $20.00 and serve a minimum of 2 people (our allowance to eat out if I pay :) )
• I am not allowed to pick the ingredient or specific dish of the week, but I am allowed to cook within set parameters of the idea.  For example, the ingredient is shrimp but a request of Italian and light was requested, so I must cook according to, but if the ingredient was just shrimp, I could cook it how I felt could challenge my range.

To date, the challenge has been successful.  Kind of like my mini Iron Chef moment of the week as it were, but less dishes to prepare as they normally have to prepare 4 to 5 different dishes with the secret ingredient in all of their dishes.

I also have found something to hit my sociological brain in this challenge too.  I can't help it, I majored and graduated with a degree in Sociology/Anthropology so I'm always thinking of something critical.  The boyfriend's go-to cookbook has been his grandmother's The Doubleday Cookbook Complete Conteporary Cooking, Volume 1 and 2, 1975, Jean Anderson, Elaine Hanna (1080-08)) and it got me to thinking.  Some of the recipes thus far have been pretty easy preparation wise, which surprised me since all of my visions of cooking come from the notion of the typical 1950s housewife who spends all day in the kitchen.  So if they take minimal time to prepare for, why don't more people prepare them in 2013?  Is cooking that lost of an art? Have cultures shifted from tradition so much that food has been McDonaldized (term used by sociologist George Ritzer in his book The McDonaldization of Society (1993). He explains it occurs when a culture possesses the characteristics of a fast-food restaurant. McDonaldization is a reconceptualization of rationalization, or moving from traditional to rational modes of thought, and scientific management from Wikipedia)?

These are the questions that keep me thinking and my hamster running at full speed some nights. So hopefully, in this blog, I'll be able to articulate what goes on in my head and how I find cooking to be.  With fad diets coming and going, I plan to explore the sociological impact of how we view, taste, and enjoy food.

For the record, Silly Bean, was a nickname given to me because I tend to "act silly" with my sociological brain, not for the Urban Dictionary definition of "A light hearted way of telling someone they have been a bit stupid," as my boyfriend discovered when trying to come up with a good name for this blog.