#I'mNotAFoodie - An Intro

My dinner spoke to me last night.

Yes, thaaaaat's right. My dinner spoke to me.

It's no real profound or well-kept secret that I love food and that I love to eat. My fairly consistent and "artsy" photos of my newbie food conquests on social networking sites like Instagram & Twitter pretty much give away this blatant and somewhat **severe** food infatuation.

Bacon-Wrapped Fillet w/Sauteed Spinach & Mushroom Jalapeno Blend

My sudden interest in "Paleo" last summer helped me start the process in researching healthier options for meals. Not to be obsessive, but this way of thinking/eating made me appreciate cooking on a **whole new** level.

I've been teased - on multiple occasions - and by many different people (including my very close friends) - for the "overuse" of my #glorious #food #and #cooking #hashtags. And I really don't care! Cooking is very much an art, and I thoroughly enjoy researching and creating my next edible masterpiece.

Poached Nordic Salmon w/Steamed Garlic String Green Beans

My secret? Wine. A crisp glass of vino brings forth my cooking creativity and relaxes me after a particularly stressful day at work. Especially on Mondays. Really, no shocker there. It brings the "sexy back" in cooking.

My mom called out my intense love for food at a very young age. As students, we were all encouraged by an elementary school teacher to keep a daily journal, and to document the enjoyable happenings of our day-to-day lives. I think I was probably about six or seven years old, at the time.

It turns out, that a majority of my journal entries were based on or geared towards **FOOD** in some capacity. My mom quickly noticed that I pretty much regularly logged what I consumed throughout the day. She also noticed that I described these foods in great detail. My mom kept those journals after all of these years; they are actually pretty adorable to read.

Perhaps my calling was a food critic? My family say, "Uh, duh, that's a yes"!

Bun-Less Sirloin w/Avocado & Mixed Berries

My dad is a brilliant cook, and I've received many, MANY cooking tips from him over the past several years. Apparently, when my parents were first married, my mom made a delightful meatloaf dish that my dad crassly and ungratefully criticized, and, well, the rest is pretty much history. My mom gave up the kitchen to him, and at that point, a new chef was born. My dad loves cooking as much as I do, and to be honest, he really should have started up his own restaurant. He's that good.

The fact is, that I'm definitely a foodie, regardless of my somewhat sarcastic blog title might indicate.

Happy cooking! From here on out, I'll be posting some pretty easy recipes for ya'll to try. You won't be sorry :)

#I'mNotAFoodie

Mushroom Wine Sauce with White Rice (Dad's Recipe)