Stand and Shine Magazine Spring 2015 | Page 30

Food 10 beginner cooking tips from the Chef in Training My name is Nikki and I run a blog called, “Chef in Training” (www.chef-in-training.com). I grew up with a mom who is a fabulous cook. She has a gift to simply taste a recipe and recreate a version that is often better than the original. She made every meal for us growing up and spoiled us kids rotten with all the delicious and creative food she made. Then came the day I left for college; what a rude awakening that was! No mom cooking me pancakes in the morning! No dinner on the table for me when I came home from school! My diet was completely turned upside down and I didn’t even know where to start. Most of my college pre-married life was freezer dinners from the grocery store, PB&Js for lunch and a bowl of cereal for breakfast. By two and a half years into college I had already met and married my sweetheart. This is when the pathetic eating situation I had fallen into got real for me. Not only was I in charge of feeding myself, but I now had a tall skinny husband that was literally a human garbage disposal. I began to feel pressure to have nice meals for him every day, and decided it was high time I taught myself how to cook, so that is exactly what I did. I actually surprised myself as I realized I could make a good meal with a little practice and effort. It wasn’t until after my oldest child was born that I started a blog. I had a little extra time on my hands being a new stay-at-home mom and decided to store my recipes in a little corner of the Internet call “Chef in Training.” I chose this name because I feel like a chef in training every time I enter my kitchen. I think most people can relate to this title as well because we all learn to cook one recipe at a time. 30