I like to cook. I really do.

I don’t know if I would say that cooking is a passion or use some big word to describe it. I just know that it’s something I enjoy, something that has been part of my life for a long time, and something that makes me feel good.

There is something about being in the kitchen that relaxes me.

Sometimes I know exactly what I’m going to make. Other times, I open the refrigerator, see what’s there and think, Okay, what can I do with this?

And that’s usually how it starts.

I can follow a recipe, but I also like changing things. I add something because I think it might taste good, use something I already have, or make something completely different with leftovers.

Does it always work?

Of course not.

But that’s part of cooking too.

I also love sharing my food. Actually, I think that’s one of my favorite parts.

I like when somebody tries something I made. I want to know what they think — and I really want to know. Tell me if you like it. Tell me if something is missing. Tell me if you would eat it again.

Obviously, I’m very happy when the answer is, “This is really good.”

Who wouldn’t be?

And maybe that’s also why I cook. I enjoy making something and being able to give some of it to somebody else. Food is meant to be shared.

Now, would I enjoy cooking this much if I had to do it every single day for a whole family?

I don’t know.

Cooking because I feel like cooking is one thing. Having people asking me what’s for dinner every day might be a completely different story.

So let’s not go that far.

For now, I cook because I enjoy it.

It gives me something to do, it lets me be creative, and sometimes it gives my mind a little break from everything else.

And since I’m already cooking, experimenting, taking pictures of my food and telling people what I made, I thought: why not put all of that here?

So this is going to be another little part of my blog.

My cooking.

Not necessarily perfect recipes or perfect dishes. Just things I’ve cooked, things I’ve tried, food that reminds me of something, little experiments that somehow worked, and probably a few that didn’t.

Every dish has its own little story.

So let’s see where this goes.