So many cookbooks...

I think I have a problem.

Yesterday, I bought a bookcase. I bought a big one too - taller than I am.

I came home, and with some help, put it together while supper was cooking (bacon wrapped chicken, Hasselback Potatoes, steamed broccoli w/ garlic).

I was super excited to finally have a place to put my cookbooks and my other books.

We finished assembling the bookcase, and I ran all around the house gathering up all of my wayward books, all the while trying to remember all of the places I had them stashed and all of the cookbooks I've bought or acquired over time so I could keep a mental inventory to know what's missing.

After I thought I had them all, I realized I had missed a whole box of them (half a shelf's worth). I mean, how does someone forget about 15 cookbooks?

I sorted them all out, and decided I needed some categories.

• Brand Name Cooking
• TV Chefs (A-Z)
• Baking
• Cake Decorating
• Barbecue
• Southern Cooking
• Ethnic Cooking (by nationality)
• Local Cooking (Maritimes and Eastern Canada)
• Classic Cookbooks (like the Joy of Cooking and Best of Bridge!)
• Gooseberry Patch books
• Specialty and Miscellaneous
• Healthy/Low Fat (Non-Weight Watchers)
• Weight Watchers

After putting all of the books in, I filled three full shelves.

I'm starting to think I have a problem...

Took me long enough...

It's finally happened. 

My head can no longer contain all of the thoughts I have about my two big passions in life - cars and cooking. I need an outlet. That's why I'm here. 

I guess part of the inspiration for this is a recent trip to Connecticut where I hung out with fellow gearheads for the weekend. After coming home and writing an article for an upcoming issue of Herald Wheels, I decided I need a place to put all of the other things that pass through the crazy train of my brain and end up on the cutting room floor.

Let me take a moment to talk a little bit about myself. 

Cars:

I've been working on cars since I was 10 years old. Yes, I'm aware that's not a common hobby for a 10-year-old girl. It should have been Barbies, or something. My earliest memories of cars come from working in the garage with my dad, learning the mechanical basics. 

I also remember being obsessed with Ford Mustangs, but that's a conversation for another day. (I once counted every Mustang I saw as we drove through California on a family vacation - must have driven my parents nuts.)

My car history:

I got my first car the day I got home from my driver's test - a 1990 Plymouth Sundance hand-me-down from my mom. After an unfortunate left turn that resulted in some body damage, I found myself in a 1993 Toyota Tercel, which I swear was unkillable. Trust me. This is where it all started.

In 2005, I started going to Atlantic Motorsport Park in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. I was immediately hooked. This evolved (snowballed) into a race team and we now have a 1986 Mazda RX-7 race car. While it lives in the garage most of the time, which is the way of some race cars, we still love it.

While going to the track, I developed a secondary hobby of taking photos. You'll see those from time to time on here.

A few years ago, while working at The Chronicle Herald, I fell into a gig with Herald Wheels, writing and taking photos. 

And here we are now. Yesterday, someone told me that my Facebook posts are like mini-Top Gear episodes. I can only aspire to that here.


Cooking:

When I moved out of my parents' house and into the home I share with my partner, I had almost zero cooking experience. We had one sharp knife in the house and I had the internet for recipes. He had no interest in cooking, so if we wanted to eat, I was just going to have to figure it out.

Many Google and Allrecipes.com searches later, some of my friends regard me as sort of an amateur expert. 

I now collect modern and antique cookbooks, own a set of Shun knives, and cooking and baking are part of my everyday life. 

My goal with this blog is to be able to share some of my cooking adventures, ideas and recipes. I hope you'll enjoy it. 



Now that I've rambled on enough, stay tuned.