Food As A Passion

As I began to discover my strong interest in food, I had to rectify a little lifelong issue...I have some food intolerances. When I was a child, I would become sick, an experience that was similar to food poisoning, every so often. Initially, my parents believed that I had some stomach bug. However, they began to observe a clear pattern. The "sick" always looked the same, my body wanted to purge something, but without any fever or other symptoms. Eventually, I had allergy testing completed and it was confirmed that my body did not tolerate chicken or pork, and also garlic and maltodextrin. Although somewhat an annoyance, it was not very difficult to avoid these foods when I lived at home and I became accustomed to subtly avoiding those foods when I was eating with friends or, on the rare occasion at that time in my life, eating at a restaurant. However, as a adult becoming infatuated with the cuisine of other cultures, this revealed a new challenge. How would I ever find out what authentic (and well known) foods tasted like if if I had to be avoiding food? Could I never understand the lure of Ramen? Or dumplings? Also, how would I avoid an accidental exposure to these foods if I was in another country or simply in a restaurant with people who did not speak fluent English, as is the case in many restaurants in Los Angeles??? A few years later, I also was diagnosed with several autoimmune diseases and so I stopped eating gluten, a recommendation made in order to avoid excess inflammation. I knew that it was worth it in hopes of improving my health, but what a limitation to put on someone who loves food! 

Frustrating as it was, I was not deterred by these parameters. It did encroach on my freedom to try "anything", but it also created an opportunity to have interesting conversations with waiters and chefs as I advocated for myself. Also, it motivated me to try cooking a number of things at home, which resulted in learning about food on another level. 

During the experience of cooking, I gained an undeniable appreciation for the effort of creating and cooking and this allowed me to find a new creative outlet. Initially, I followed recipes with carefully researched substitutions. I Googled the best way to make homemade sausage and how to get the best outcome when using turkey rather than pork. I learned about the importance of gluten in baking and why it is so challenging to create gluten free bread that is not dry and dense. I learned about the importance of various aspects of any recipe to obtain balance and how to counteract a mistake, such as adding too much salt. Rather than this being daunting, it became a fun challenge for me and fueled my passion for food. As I learned more and had more experiences, I also became less intimidated that I would have an accidental exposure to the allergens when I was eating out. Primarily, it stoked the fire and excitement that I had to continue learning more! I began to believe that I could cook anything! Nothing was too large of a challenge!