My First Cookbook

I started learning about cooking in my elementary days. I remembered we shared money to buy the ingredients and cooked the assigned recipe in our Cooking Class. I do not recall, however, that I was part of the cooking team. I only remembered EATING and dishwashing.

I am not sure, however, if this picture on the right shows kids in a cooking class. My classmate, Resty (the cute little girl in apron), looks like she was cooking or was she just pretending to cook. She is now a great cook and a blogger of  The Red Apron. She was a great influence on my interest in blogging. I enjoyed reading her blogposts. I loved to try her recipes, too.

That pretty girl who leans on the table was (ehem, clears throat).... ME.  I do not know what I was doing. Maybe, I was just standing and leaning against the table as if waiting for Resty to finish her cooking, LOL! 

I grew up with maids at home. Kitchen was off limits. I was not fond of cooking because it burns or cuts your skin. To prevent burns and cuts, AVOID cooking. That was my motto. Of course, I was not proud of it. 

Decades later, my friends and colleagues from VitaLiv gave me my FIRST cookbook. It was indeed pretty handy for a beginner cook like myself. I laughed when I first saw the cover, KID'S FIRST COOKBOOK. I almost broke down to tears when I started reading their messages for me. Thank you, it was really sweet.

My husband, Bien, would compare me to a computer by teasing me about my Cooking Software being bugged or disabled by a virus. There was Sita (our maid), whom he says was the culprit for not making my Cooking Software work. He had to UNINSTALL Sita from my system. LOL!

I practiced cooking during my stay in Brunei. I watched the cooking videos from Panlasang Pinoy. To AVOID BURNING your food,  watch the video first before cooking and STOP FB'ng. I hope you are NOT as guilty as me! Ha ha ha.

When I came home after one year, I continued practicing cooking. One can't help mistakes (like overcooking meat that tastes like cardboard) or kitchen bloopers (like peeling off the skin of a bitter gourd!?!... what the...?)....! 

Be inspired and keep practicing. It feels great to prepare a hearty meal and enjoy eating with your loved ones.

After just a month, Bien gained ONE kilogram.... oooops... he said TWO!!! So did I.

My friends and colleagues at Vitaliv Clinic, Brunei. (2011)