Eating Across Kansas

Passions don't magically appear. They are learned over time. My love of food and cooking started early. I've actively nurtured these loves for many years, at some times more actively than others. My earliest memory of cooking is from age 3 or 4. On weekends my dad would cook breakfast for Mom and me. I remember him letting me beat eggs with a fork to make scrambled eggs. He would pull a kitchen chair up next to the stove so I could "help" him flip pancakes. My earliest memory of the holidays is making peanut butter fudge and decorating sugar cookies with my mother, sometime around age 4 or 5. Around the same time I remember a Thanksgiving dinner with my aunt and uncle in Georgia. I don't remember anything except a big turkey leg and my uncle showing my how to blow up surgical gloves like balloons. At age 10, I would watch Martha Stewart on Saturday mornings. She came on at 10:00 and my horseback riding lessons were at 11. I would watch Martha while Mom & Dad ...

I love food. I love food of all varieties - street food, fair food, greasy spoons, ethnic dives, fine dining restaurants, cutesy cupcake bakeries - I love them all. That is not to say that I love all food. There is a great amount of food out there that is runs the gamut from very unpleasant to passably good, but truly great food is a rare find, whether it be in a restaurant, at a friend's house or in your own home. I'll be honest, most of the food I eat on a daily basis is mediocre or good. Actually, unfortunately I eat more bad food than I should. I'm not just talking about unhealthy food, but food that just plain tastes bad. I'd like for you to join me on my quest for good food both in the home, on the road, and at restaurants. Let's eat our way across Kansas and see what flavors we can find.