Cooking as a Petite Mom

I have a confession to make. I didn't know how to cook until I had my second child. I've never attempted as a single woman. I tried, but horribly failed as a mom of one. I never really cared for it until I started eating cleaner (organic, non-processed, home cooked). After I erased fast food restaurants out of my diet, with the exception of Chikfila, I was at a lost as to what I would actually eat. So, I started cooking. The downside? My prep takes twice as long as everyone else and leave the kitchen a mess. So total cooking time is double what the recipe calls for. I also can not see what I am cooking when I am using a Stock Pot. And, I am so close to the frying pan because my arm can reach so far, that the oil pops all over my face! But the rewards? I hope it's long healthy life for me and mines. Although, my grandpa drank soda everyday and lived to 94... But one must try to eat clean, right?

So what recipe books do I actually use? I only use two actual books and two online sites.

The Philippine Cookbook by Reynaldo Alejando started me off with the basic things I would actually eat. I grew up eating everything in this book and it would be terrible to not be able to introduce them to my own children.  My favorite recipe here is the Maruya, which is a banana fritter.

Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld is awesome. I hated vegetables and picked around my food a lot growing up. I bought this to trick myself into eating more vegetables way before my first child came along. Funny, right? My favorite recipes here are the beef stew, meatballs, and Banana bread. They are so delicious.

 

I love the Panlasang Pinoy blog. I've started using his blog when my first one was a baby; just random Filipino dishes I wanted to learn to cook. Then a friend showed me that he also had vlogs on YouTube and my cooking game reached a higher level. His recipes are on point and the dishes taste authentic once you are done. I absolutely love his Siopao recipe (steamed bun).

And lastly, AllRecipes.com. I love the comment section on all the recipes on this site because many people comment on how they made it better, etc. At first it was kind of hard for someone like me who needs the recipe to be to the tee, but it helped me learn how to improvise. Initial dishes were not very good, I won't lie. Eventually, I got my groove in the kitchen that I finally want to taste them before I serve them. Was I really the only one that never taste the food while cooking? Anyways, they also have an app. I go by stars for their recipes. I find myself recooking their homemade Alfredo sauce and their Crockpot dishes.

By no means am I Chef quality in the kitchen. I can read and follow instructions well, though. I just wished my counter was at a level where I can actually see what I am cooking.