For Starters

This is the start of something new for me. I have been thinking about writing a cookbook for sometime now but really struggled to find a starting point. It is just overwhelming with all the different types of food there are out there and all the different ways to cook. The other thing getting in my way was I wanted to make the cookbook easy to use. How am I going to organize the recipes that I decide to share? How do I make it both fun for myself, and also fun for a reader? These thoughts kept running through my head constantly, but I never had an answer for any of them.

Well friends, while I was at the grocery store shopping for food to take my mind off the day, (yes I do that often) I was milling around in the produce section. I decided to buy a leek. Not once in my life have I had leeks outside of a restaurant, and I was excited to plop that thing on my cutting board and see what I could make happen. Then while I was trying to decide what protein me and the wifey were going to have for dinner the next night, I saw this bright orange sticker with the word "LAMB" in big bold type - and it hit me. The alphabet, it was so simple. I bought the leek and the lamb chops and rushed home to make dinner. That night, me and the Mrs had an "L" inspired meal and I shared with her my thoughts about this project. Immediately, she was supportive and started thinking in her head the many possibilities that this project could take the form of.

So here is the deal: for 26 weeks, I am going to cook my way through the alphabet starting with the letter "A". (good thing "X", "Y", and "Z" are at the end so that I can do some research... by the way, does anyone know where I can get some zebra steaks?) I love food. I love cooking food, sharing food, thinking about food, and yes I love eating food. It is my hope that you will join me on this journey and challenge here on the blog and hopefully at the dinner table.

-J