Where It All Started

This is too much. This would be a class picture in the sixth grade. Anyways...

As I said in a previous entry, Cooking, for me, started back in my third or fourth year in high school. I was the "burden" of the girls' Home Economics group back then. My cooking experience was close to zero and I was supposedly the all around kitchen helper. I was the last to cook my dish because mine would be served first and would be the easiest to cook. My dish was... *drum rolls* garlic mushrooms! Ha ha ha!

From the start, the girls were bullying me for my ingredients. They took most of my garlic and butter and all I had were literally leftovers from what they were all cooking. I had some extra taco beef and mozzarella cheese from the beef pocket pie (don't ask me why taco beef) and, since I did not want to clean up that much and I am the clean up committee being the boy, anything left in the table were used in my garlic mushrooms.

It turned out to cause a scene since we all know how hot butter and sizzling garlic smell like together. I had to mix them all together and it became my first attempt in creating the Mushrooms with Taco Beef and Cheese. Everybody loved it. The mozzarella was just enough to create a cheesy layer over my mushrooms. The little bites of ground taco beef just complemented the mushrooms.

This is where it all started for me. The next attempts to that were different in a sense that I turned it into a main course than an appetizer. It became the Taco Beef with Mushrooms and Cheese Sauce that most of my friends know. From then on, I started experimenting and helping at home. I remember creating three different types of burger patties at home for our breakfast. I created a cheese, a salsa, and a cheese and salsa burger but what was different about it was I incorporated the cheese and salsa into the burger patty before cooking. A style that I never knew was already being used in some burger joints around the Metro until my second year in college. I also helped in cooking buttered lamb chops and my ever favorite Vigan Longganisa.

Now, I'm here but, without studying, it was really a wonder how I was able to shift from cooking ready food to my own recipes. I guess you can call it my mom's gift to me. And, I treasure that, a lot. It may have took a while but I am glad that this is where life brought me.

Where it all started, for me, was a reminder to never overlook at the possibilities in life. I always neglected the part that I can cook because I never knew it would be something more than a hobby. It may have started because of the financial needs but it all worked out to meet what I actually want to do in life.

"Everything may change but it is all up to you if you will keep on moving towards your dreams or, at the very least, a single dream."

-Francis Fabie