Cooking

I love cooking. I don't know how many people out there can say that except for the famous chefs on Food Channel. I have always liked cooking - but I never truly loved it until I got married and began cooking more seriously. As a child growing up, I had my mother, and grandmothers always cooking. When my parents were working, and I came home early from kindergarten, I would sit down on the ground with my grandmother (father's side) and squish spinach with eggs, and herbs to make a typical persian dish - Kookoo Sabzi. My mother used to bake a lot of bread at home, at least once a week. She would make large loaves of bread, Persian flat breads, bread rolls, cookies, the whole nine yards. That is where my passion for cooking began - through baking. When the bread would come out of the oven fresh with an intoxicating aroma that would spread throughout the neighborhood, I would sit on the countertop with my legs dangling waiting for the bread to come out. And when it did - Oh boy! I would slice it open, spread butter, cheese, tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, and close it up. I would eat the whole thing by myself - after I had asked everyone if they wanted me to make them one of course.

I grew in a magnificent household. One where there was always warmth, kindness, excitement, and adventure. I grew up in a household where my parents were of course, my uncle (dad's youngest brother), my cousin (father's side), grandmothers, aunt and cousins (from mothers side), aunt and cousin (father's side). They did not all live there simultaneously, but when they did, and in between their visits or other people living with us, well, I absolutely loved it. I grew up in Sweden, a very modern society, and yet I was engulfed in the old world of living with its spices, it laughters, its adventures, and its values. That is where I became introduced to other "spices". Cooking to me is like knowing people from different cultures, different backgrounds. You may not like one spice by itself because of its bitterness, but combined with another, it can create miracles in our minds. The same thing applies to life I believe - especially in the US. That is why I truly loved this country, because it really is filled with spices from everywhere, allowing us to savor different adventures everytime we encounter one.

So, after I got married, I began to cook more frequently, and I began to watch the Food Channel with my wife - re-awakening the love I had forgotten I had for cooking. As I began cooking, my wife was perplexed as to why I did not follow recipes, or how I could cook without measuring anything. I would say a pinch of thyme, two pinches of marjoram, some red wine, etc. She thought I was nuts at first. I loved experimenting, but always with boundaries. I would never venture out of my comfort zone. I would cook mainly chicken and rice, use tomatoes, make thin crust pizzas. But as I became more confident in my cooking, I began to use fruits in my cooking sometimes, or white wine with honey for fish.

My belief is that because of my upbringing of being in a household where there were so many "spices", I have come to be much more open to people from all over the world. This has also allowed me to be more open with my cooking, and when I go out to dine, I love to always try something new and bold. If politicians of the world learned cooking with spices from all over the world, I truly believe it would be a more peaceful world.