I’m Posting – Woot!

Hi there – my name is Toni!
I thought it was high time I added the first post to my Dang Good Cooking blog since the site has been live on the web for a whole 2 days now. 
<insert big yawns and nervous giggles here>

…now that I’m older than dirt and have spare time to spare, I’ve found that all I want to do is get in the kitchen and cook.  And not just any kind of food, I want to revisit all the foods that made me so happy when I was growing up!

So how about if we get to know a little about each other, eh?  I’ll share some of me in this post, and then you share some of you in the comment section.  Deal?  Maybe?

If I promise to show you how to make my grandmothers best Scottish Scones are you all in?   😀

My cooking style is definitely comfort food based, but also includes some truly old recipes that have been handed down from my Grandmother and Mother. Oh and one from my older sister because she makes THE most delicious Cottage Dill bread ever and one from HER mother-in-law, Grandma Henderson, because oh my gosh, her homemade white bread is to die for!

I love my food super hot, served family style and the easier it is the better!  BUT, there are a few recipes that are worth the extra time and effort, so I’ll be sure to make and share them with you.  

My Mom taught me nearly everything I know about food, how to prepare it and how to enjoy it.  My mother was an interesting cook.  She had a reputation as an excellent home cook, but she had rules.  
1) Nothing could be too expensive because there were six little mouths to feed and one big one (my Dad!).  
2) Nothing could take a whole lot of time and effort – you can’t leave six little kids to their own devices for long unless you don’t mind mayhem and disaster.  
3) Nothing could include fancy food items that aren’t normally found in a pantry or fridge, because she did NOT relish the idea of making a run to the supermarket towing 6 unruly kids with her just to buy a gourmet spice or fancy bit of produce.

Julia Child and James Beard came into my life when I was 15 and taught me a little bit about fancy food cookery and how to create more exotic dishes. I LOVED that, but when it came time to raise my own family I realized that Mom knew best.  It was just a bit silly to spend hours slaving over my stove, or making runs to the store for fancy items with 3 sons playing football with soup cans in the aisles, or using oranges for baseballs.  So I revamped Julia and James’ recipes to fit my busy lifestyle and didn’t feel guilty about it.

I cooked my first ever dinner when I was eight years old.  It was a massive failure, but my oldest brother and my Dad gulped it down and declared it a good effort.  I basked in the glow of those hard-as-hockey-puck hamburgers, boiled-till-they-wilted green beans and mostly raw potatoes for days!  That was the start of my love affair with cooking.  My passion has waxed and waned over the years depending on what else was going on in my life, but….

…now that I’m older than dirt and have spare time to spare, I’ve found that all I want to do is get in the kitchen and cook.  And not just any kind of food, I want to revisit all the foods that made me so happy when I was growing up.  Some I’ve modernized, others I’ve left as they are, because there’s no need to mess with perfection, right?  💡

I can’t end this post without telling you a little bit about my husband.  His name is Tim, though his brothers and sister still call him Timmy, and I usually call him Timothy, or Timothy George when he says something really outrageous.  He’s my rock around here.  Oh and he’s also my social media guru!  I can code websites all day, create databases till the cows come home and write java scripts in my sleep, but I DO NOT DO SOCIAL MEDIA.  Tim ribs me because I only have 70 friends on Facebook and never post, just read.

Tim isn’t just my rock though.  He’s also pretty darned good at inspiring me, encouraging me and daring me to “go for it”.  He knows I love to cook, and even though it’s just the two of us in the house, he’s on board with me creating enough food to feed an army for the sake of my blog.  I’m a lucky woman and I know it!

Okay, so now I’ve told you a little about me and how I learned to love to cook.  It’s your turn… Scottish Scones, remember?

And tomorrow we can do this all over again.  A little more chat from me, a little more chat from you.

In a week or so I’ll post my first recipe, but in the meantime, come say hi and let’s get to know each other!

Love life and enjoy your food,
Toni
Dang Good Cooking!