Simple

   Food is a simple thing that can be very complicated. Food is not only sustenance for the body, but also for the soul. For our expression and togetherness. Think of your most precious memory and I can guarantee there will be food at the center of it. For me, it's Christmas mornings making monkey bread with my mom. The warm and sweet concoction is the very essence of who my mom is.
 Food was not always as important to me as it is now. I can't say that I grew up in a house that was obsessed with food, but food was something that I can always remember being one of the best things about my growing up. Whether it was my dad's "burned victim" BBQ chicken, or my mom's chicken salad I begged her to make every weekend for softball showcase tournaments. The recipes that I remember weren't fancy, or even photo-worthy, but they were the things that I remember more vividly than my senior prom.
   Now I see food in a completely new light than when I was younger. Now I don't only eat food because it tastes good, or because if I don't I become very cranky. I prepare and eat food for the pure enjoyment. The cloud 9 feeling I get when I take the first bite out of something I have never made and the instant criticism that follows before the bite gets to my stomach. There is a certain thrill that I get when I try something new. I can't even tell you how many times I stay awake at night thinking about what new technique or flavor combination I am going to create tomorrow for dinner. It's not hunger that drives me, but a sense to express myself to others that keeps my wide awake at the oddest hours.
   Most days I daydream about what I can make it my tiny kitchen with the limited ingredients I have. Should I make Na'an from scratch? Or possibly take a crack at making my own sourdough bread? What would bring out the best flavors in the rib eye steaks I just bought the other day? Even now I am smiling just thinking of making a batch of scones when I should be in bed with my man and our dog sleeping soundly.
   As I said above, food is very important to me and I love to cook. More specifically I love to cook for people more that anything else. Food is what sustains me, body and soul. Simple.