Intro: obligingly slog through, or feel free to wait for the first real post

As you'll come to find from reading my posts, I have very strong preferences about food, including how it's grown, the style in which it's cooked, and the individual ingredients.  I am by no means picky, I just know what I like and I'm an adult, so I have the power to make my food decisions.  My friend Aaron says I'm a food snob, but that's not true either.  He just imagines himself a non-snob and we frequently conflict in our tastes.  Thus, I'm the de facto snob.  Anyway, neener, Aaron.  (He has a music blog, tip of your tongue, top of my lungs, so I imagine he won't respond to my teasing.  I get the last word.  Ha.)

But in the interest of full disclosure, I will always tell you why I have included or excluded an ingredient or chosen a particular method over another, if it strikes me as relevant.  I am not a food expert of any kind.  I just know what I've picked up along the way.  In the end, you just have to decide what you like and make your food in accordance.  This isn't gospel people.  Food is about getting full, but you should feel happy about it, not bored or resigned.

To give you an idea of where I'm going with this, take a look at the photo below.  My fiance, Jeremy, took a nicely composed photo of me smashing the heck out of some chicken breasts for my Chicken Pepperoni dish (like Cordon Bleu, but with mozzarella, pepperoni, and basil instead of the swiss and ham).  In the foreground you can see a plate of veggies that became a lovely Ratatouille.  I brought it to a potluck with my buddies, but there was a LOT, so I brought a bunch home.  We ate the leftovers a couple times, then I used the rest with some stock, applied an immersion blender (bridal shower gift, thank you!), and had an awesome veggie soup.

For the most part, you can expect to read about delicious, but usually not fancy, food.  I'm a pretty good cook, but like everyone, I have occasional kitchen failures, and I'm my biggest critic, so I probably think they happen more often than those with whom I share my food.  I'll let you know when I think I've failed, why, and how I might change things in the future.  And I want your comments too.  If nothing else, cooking and eating is about sharing.