When I first got here I didn't really have an interest in food and flavours, I mean, I just liked eating it, but not cooking it. It was my 6 months of staying home that made me become a food fan, if there is such thing.
Being new to a NEW country it's quite hard, you have to get used to all these new things that are happening around you; one of them is trying to find food that you are familiar with. Now a days with all the "Globalization theme" you can find almost everything, everywhere..... "Yes, of Course you can find everything" but trying to stay with your normal diet might become quite expensive, specially if you are coming from a far away country. So, the best way to handle things, is just to ADAPT to what is available to you now. The only thing standing in your way is that you Don't Know how to cook all this new ingredients.
Back in my country we do have a lot of different flavours, but certainly not as Toronto does. The mix of cultures deliver an incredibly complex range of flavours. I've never had Thai food or Real Chinese food before, believe it or not.... BUT, that is another story. Today I am trying to share with you the way I discovered my interest in food.
So, as I was saying, it's hard trying to understand how to cook ingredients you have never worked with before, and if you are not a good cook, How would you know?. Right? Well I started to understand that either I kept eating the way I always did or I will have to add new things to my diet.
By that time, my Mom was visiting. She definitely loves cooking even though she might not be the best at it, but I have to say she has a couple of great recipes. So, anyways, she is always watching these cooking TV shows, and that's how we discovered The Food Network http://www.foodtv.ca/. At first I didn't pay a lot of attention to it (in fact, I was telling my mom to change the channel), BUT, 2 of the hosts captured my attention.
The first thing was that both were Canadian chefs, so .. I figured, these cooks will teach me how to find the right mix in all the different ingredients found in Canada.
The second thing was that the food they were preparing just looked AMAZING...
I started waking up every morning at 9 AM just to watch my new friends. "French Food at Home" was the first show I watched in the morning http://www.foodtv.ca/frenchfoodathome/.
Laura Calder is just amazing, if you have seen her show, you will know what I am talking about. By focusing in perfectionism and flavourness she gives a feminine touch to all her creations. Later on I found some of her recipes being really easy and some of them not so, you just have to find the right ones for you. "Chef at Home" was the second show I watched, and I just have to say, Michael Smith is brilliant! http://www.foodtv.ca/michaelsmith/.
He just became my New BEST Friend without him even knowing it. He was the one that taught me how to cook, and enjoy it. Because, let's be honest, I was not as good as I thought. In fact I was actually pretty bad, my poor hubby whom I call Chaparrito, can tell you about it. The good thing about him is that he will actually eat rocks if I give them to him.
My first creation was a success!.. I cooked one of my good friend's recipes. Michael Smith makes it soooooo easy that anyone looking to prepare a delicious dinner can do it. Following the recipe was really simple and I was surprised of how much I was enjoying it!!.. After almost 1 hour, I had cooked a great dinner!
I prepared a colourful and delicious salad, 1 big tomato tart and for Dessert a very Purple Berry Smoothie!!..
For someone that was simply an amateur, the food was really good!!!
That's when I realized I was beginning to taste Toronto!
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