Food: now i like to cook it, too.

 [L enjoying some of my homemade, baked mac 'n cheese. 9.5.2011.]

a weird thing happened when i got to germany.  well, maybe weird isn't the right word. rather, let's say an unexpected thing happened:

i started cooking. that's not the unexpected part. i'm an au pair, of course i'm going to cook. the unexpected part was the love i discovered i had for cooking. deep in a usually unnoticed part of my heart i happened upon a love for cooking. for getting my hands and practically my whole self covered in flour. wiping off my brow with my forearm,  attempting to keep the sauce covering my hands out of my hair. enjoying a piece of bread - bread you kneaded with your own hands, bread you watched rise before your eyes - you will never enjoy a meal so much as one you made yourself. from scratch. it's a magical, fulfilling kind of enjoyment. it's something i had never quite experienced before my time in germany.

so now, happening upon new recipes, how-to videos (like the brilliant one below), & sites full of tips, i get giddy. i literally feel myself smile from the inside out. i love it. and i'm so happy that i can leave this adventure with such new appreciations and loves. and let me tell ya, my familia will certainly be glad, too. ; )