My affair with cooking...

My interest for cooking started when I was in my secondary school years. I had loved my home econs cooking classes, and how I wished I could have taken HE lessons till Sec 4. I still had fond memories of making my first french toast in HE class in Sec 1, and I was so proud when I brought the toast home to show mum. My first baking attempt in HE was to make rock buns, it was so enjoyable that I baked more rock buns at home using a mini toaster (as we did not have an oven). Needless to say, my rock buns did not rise, I ended up with 'flat' buns. Since then, I knew I have to own an oven.

Mum had to juggle 2 jobs then which meant she could only be home after 11pm every day, yet she wanted dad to enjoy home cooked dinner. By then, I was old enough to take on domestic responsibilities, yet too young to be hanging out with friends after school (like my elder sis & bro), thus I was officially appointed Assistant Chef of the family. I remembered Dad bestowed the title upon me.

In the beginning, all I needed to do was to transfer the raw, marinated fish/poultry/seafood from the fridge to the steamer, cook rice / reheat the cooked food and pot of soup. Piece of cake!

Gradually, mum felt that I was ready for more. Before I knew it, I was happily spending most evenings in the kitchen - cleaning and removing the innards of poultry/fish, cutting, slicing/chopping (I don't like this part the most), marinating, brewing soup, stewing, deep frying, stir frying! I did not get it right all the time, but it was fun and encouraging as dad was my avid supporter!

My relationship with cooking stopped when I got into college. I fell in love and had to juggle my life around friends, boyfriend and school commitments. With volleyball training up to 3 evenings/week, there was no way I could continue to cook for the family. Going into Uni was worse, I was hardly home. Cooking then was largely reduced to mere instant noodles with luncheon meat or yong tau foo (bought at Jurong Pt Fairprice) in the hall's kitchenette when I got sick of Mr Bay's food.

Naturally, I felt really lost in my brand new kitchen when I first attempted to cook a decent meal for the husband shortly after we got married. Not just because I had lost the 'flair' for cooking, I was also not used to cooking for only 2 persons!

With my busy lifestyle, it takes extra effort to whip up a meal for the 2 of us. Nonetheless, I still enjoy the occasional cook out. The purpose of setting up this blog is to document all the recipes I've experimented with so I won't forget them as time passes, it's also a quick reference for me as and when I need, and perhaps through this blog, I can pass on my learnings to friends who share my passion. Feel free to comment on my entries.

Bon appétit!