Image courtesy of Jessica and Lon Binder at flickr.com

Admittedly, I love watching cooking shows, a habit that began when I was seven. I learn techniques, get food inspirations, and often walk away hungry. Nowadays, thanks to the internet, I can even get my food fix listening to all manner of cooks via webinars and recorded interviews.

Over the past few years I have been attracted more to healthier cooks. On The Next Food Network Star I find myself cheering on those who cook for nutritional needs, and I loved when the first vegan baker won on Cupcake Wars. But there is one interesting thing I’ve noted – vegan cooks are just like other cooks. The vegan ones may say a word about loving animals, or not, but all cooks share an interest in creating memorable food. Their eyes light up when talking about how food comes together.

It’s this passion for making good food taste good that attracts me to food preparation. There were times when my only interest in food was to make hunger disappear, but now I am fascinated with how food is made. I am also inspired to experiment with other people’s ideas and make them better for me, improving on taste and texture to suit my appetite.

These inspirations lead me into the kitchen with thoughts whirring in my head – should I use less oil, I’ll substitute an ingredient I like better, that bread would bake better at high altitude as mini loaves. It’s the creativity in food that makes me want to create a wonderful dish. As a matter of fact, there is a recipe I saw the other day that I want to adapt. I guess I should go get started.