My interest in cooking and baking goes way back to childhood. By the time I was eight years old I was interested in trying to cook and bake but grew up in the Midwest where roast and potatoes on Sunday, Pork Chops in Mushroom Soup on Wednesday and Taco's on Thursdays was standard. Our standard fare didn't change much and we lived in a very small town whose grocery store didn't even regularly carry flavored yogurt until I was 13 years old.
We owned just two cookbooks so my cooking and baking dreams were often on hold if the two old fashioned cookbooks didn't have a recipe for my creative cravings; caramel brownies, almond flavored cakes, delicious frosting's... I believe this is probably how I learned to improvise so well! Necessity is the mother of invention!
These days I not only have literally thousands of recipe books and magazines and cards, but the internet has made recipe finding and cooking not only so easy but opens a world of new information, new flavors, new ideas! You can find anything on the net - whether you need a Rochester medical malpractice attorney, want to know the average life span of a zebra or want to know how to make baklava; with the click of a mouse you have it.
Even with the internet at my fingertips I still love to relax with one of my 'hard copy' cookbooks. This mornings recipe is actually from one of my latest purchases. While on vacation to Myrtle Beach in March I bought a small regional book, bound with plastic and printed locally. One of the recipes is what I would deem a 'comfort food' and so quick and easy for a 1 person meal.
Tortilla Dumplings
8 flour tortillas - cut into 1 inch strips
1 c water
1 T olive oil
salt and pepper
1 c shredded monterey jack cheese
Saute tortilla strips in the oil in a hot pan over medium heat until lightly browned. Add the water and the cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
