I’m The Gourmet Goddess.  I would imagine that anyone who writes a food blog is passionate about food and everything related to food, so what can I tell you?  I cook, I teach cooking, I cater, I perform cooking demonstrations and do speaking engagements on food and flavors.  That’s my culinary arts side.  My other “art side”, is that I am a docent at The Mint Museum, in Charlotte, NC.  You should also be aware that The Goddess has a past.  Yes, she’s a woman with a deep, dark past.  But, we’ll get to that later…

Cooking is a required skill.  And my goal, with this little blog, is to help make it clearer, easier, and maybe even fun.  I’ve come to the conclusion that many people don’t like to cook, because no one has helped them understand why they are doing things in a certain way, a certain order or using a specific tool, etc.  Sometimes there’s a real reason and sometimes it’s just “because that’s how things were done back in the day”.  I want to help you journey through the culinary landscape, to sort out what’s important and what you can ignore.

I believe, wholeheartedly, that life is one constant stream of learning.  At least, I hope it is.  I believe there are no silly questions and there are definitely no stupid questions.  I can guarantee you that if you are wondering about something, others are wondering about that same thing.  Ask, and I’ll answer.  If I don’t know the answer, I’ll find out and we’ll both learn something new.  You can ask me about other things, too, but…you may want to stick with food-related questions.  It’s safer!

I am married to a wonderful, charming, intelligent man of Cuban descent, who enjoys the food I prepare and makes me coffee whenever I want it…I am blessed.  We have 3 charming and intelligent sons who are involved with equally charming and intelligent young women, and two delightful and truly gifted, grandbabies…we are indeed, blessed.  We have the good fortune to know, share meals and conversation with a group of wonderful friends…we are supremely blessed, indeed!

Now, back to that past…The Goddess grew up on a farm in the Midwest.  We raised our own meat and planted a huge garden.  It gave me a clear and wonderful appreciation for hard work…really hard work.  And good food…really good food.  My family, on both sides, produced some wonderful cooks, mostly women.  They were intelligent, well-read, extremely capable, funny and all excellent cooks.  They were an inspiration to anyone who had the good fortune to know them.

One final thing, please, share the kitchen with your children.  Sit down with you family at mealtime.  Make it happen.  Make a memory.  Make the time.  By making time, you let them know their value and you will pass on to them the importance of spending time with each other.  Slow down.  Smell the chicken roasting!

So that’s who I am.  Now, what shall we cook?