I've become one of them...A BLOGGER. That sounds so vile? I guess I just need to get on the internet boat; in many ways, I'm waaaaay behind my more networking peers.

BUT THAT IS UNIMPORTANT! What IS important, however, is the fact that I want/am going to TRY (being the operative here) to document my COOKING ADVENTURES! And no kidding, I'm pretty explorational. The prospect of making something completely from scratch (as best as possible, seeing as I live in an apartment and not on a farm) sends sparks flying. As the by-product of two working (and tired at 7 PM!) parents, I've done my share of eating at restaurants out the yin yang--definitely a boon in terms of exposure to a variety of cuisines. That, coupled with a) those parents who didn't fancy a messy kitchen, so the idea of yours truly going to town with bowls galore wasn't so much of an option and b) a semi type-A personality, equals one girl who likes to (and is finally able!) to make, as my mom used to describe it, a "batchy-botchy" for herself. And c), I'm pretty wordy, so that makes for interestingly over-detailed posts. And stories galore. And I tell a ton of awful stories with no climax.

Enough justification, in time for a related thought:

So I'm in this plant identification class, and I'm pretty jazzed to make good on using some of the native/locally grown plants in unusual cooking contexts...i.e. sumac (Rhus typhina) lemonade, linden (Tilia cordata) blossom tea, and serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis) pie. If I ever start smoking money cigars (aka the seed pods off Catalpa speciosa) though, weee doggies.

[A lot of the things I'll end up writing will, I'm sure, really be more like notes to myself rather than things you'd want to read...fyi]

So, in the words of Young Jeezy, what you can expect from this:

"Pattycake, pattycake, microwave."

Whatever that means?