Food and cooking have been a central part of my life for as long as I can remember. Only, I didn't realize how important it was to me until more recently....
I grew up in a military family living and traveling all over the the U.S. and Europe . It was a wonderful way to grow up and I am lucky to have had many incredible memories and experiences from it. After attending about 8 different schools I continued the "tradition" of moving throughout college starting at Cabrini College outside of Philadelphia, PA, attending wilderness education courses at the National Outdoor Leadership School in Lander, Wyoming and eventually graduating from Penn State Harrisburg in Harrisburg, PA with a degree in Communications.
After graduation I wanted to move to New York City Jersey City , NJ
How let me just take a minute to backtrack here.....
My mother is German and my father American and I grew up in a family where home cooked meals were a norm - no frozen dinners, no eating in front of the TV and Cheerios was our cereal of choice. Now, don't get me wrong...I didn't grow up in a crazy hyper-healthy household. My mom grew up eating home cooked meals so it was natural for her to continue doing what came natural to her and she knew that cooking dinner pretty much every night was the best way to keep her family healthy and happy.
So, when I moved out and into my own place I remember grocery shopping with my mom for all the things that were in her pantry as well. It only made sense for me to continue cooking for myself the way she always had for our family. I definitely had watched and helped my mom a lot in the kitchen so I was pretty adept at cooking for myself. But, there were still many calls home around 6:30 pm where she would explain to me over the phone how to make a roux for my great grandmothers spaghetti sauce or how thick the dough should be for crepes or how many eggs to use for a quiche. On the weekends when I went home we would cook together or she would help me make something for the following week.
During this time I met Dani and eventually we moved in together in New Jersey New York San Francisco California and we fell in love with San Francisco
Since moving I have been freelancing as a Communications Manager and while I enjoy my work I have always felt something missing. A few months ago I had a Eureka
"What are you good at?"
Cooking
"What excites you?"
Going to the grocery store, cooking, food. I like to read cookbooks.
"What have you secretly dreamed of?"
Cooking for others, teaching people to get healthy, inspiring others and making a difference.
It was so obvious! Within a month I enrolled in Bauman College where I will be starting classes in March of 2010 in their Nutrition Educator course. I am excited to have this blog with which Dani and I plan to share what we're learning on our journeys and get others excited about making positive changes in their lives.
Follow us on Twitter
Join us on Facebook
My favorite memories of Jersey City was our family dinners....Oh, I do miss your homeade dinners! Love you both! And sooo proud of you!
Erin