Yet Another Cooking Related Blog

While I'm sure the bloggosphere needs a new kitchen related cooking blog like my dog needs more treats, I've recently been inspired to try my hand at posting. I've never really blogged before, but I think it will be a good opportunity and I'm looking for a new hobby. It's quite strange, I've been out of school for two years now and I finally feel like my time belongs to me again. So welcome to Paddington's Kitchen, named so after my adorable humane society alumni Paddington. He's half teddy bear, half dog and I like to call him the bear-dog.

As for my inspiration to start here in the first place... Recently, a good friend of mine started calling me a foodie. While I don't resent the title, I somehow feel it isn't quite accurate. I mean, yes, I do love food, and no, I don't mind cooking, so I guess technically I fit the description. But somehow it still doesn't feel accurate. I don't do anything too fancy or complicated, but I always enjoy learning new things. And that's exactly what I plan on sharing here, minus the Instagram filtered images.

Over the years, I've learned a lot by trial and error,. Actually, a lot of error and I've eaten a lot of things that are, let's say, less than delicious. Those recipes in magazines and on Pinterest always seem so amazing, yet always fail to mention some crucial elements to preparing them. Basics, that if you don't know, lead to regret and #pinterestfail. I think everyone who's ever attempted to cook anything has had one meal of regrets and sorrow, because damn it, you just can't waste the food you've spent an hour preparing and it looked so good in the pictures! But don't let this discourage you. I know so many people who claim they can't cook just because they've had a handful of bad experiences in the kitchen. Cooking is like anything else that's worth doing in life, it requires a little patience and a lot of practice. So never give up!

What gives me any authority to give anyone advice? Nothing in particular. I've been vary fortunate to learn some useful things from my Eastern European grandmother, more stories on that later... Mostly I've spent many hours of research on different cooking blogs, websites, the Food Network, PBS, various cook books, and talking to good cooks I know. This had taught me a lot of neat tricks. But honestly, if your not that into cooking, who has the time or patience!?

That's my goal for these posts. I'll explain things I've learned that work and things you want to avoid. The things I post won't be too complicated (hopefully),  I'm always learning and don't profess to know nearly everything I want to either, but I'll do the research for you. My food might not be that pretty, but I will try to make it as tasty as possible. I'll also try to keep the rest of the posts from here on out a little shorter, so you don't have to spend too long looking for the information you need to get cooking.

So here we go, I'll post things I make here, I'll let you know if they were good or failed, and I'll try to offer some pointers on making recipes successful. This is a learning process for me to, so please be patient. Bon Apatite.