I started Pinch My Salt in June of 2006 and although I didn’t celebrate the actual one year anniversary with a special post or a special meal, I think I should at least acknowledge the fact that yes, I have been photographing and writing about my food for over a year now! The above photo is one of my earliest attempts at food photography. As you can see, my photography has come a long way over the last year 😉 But these Cheddar, Sour Cream and Chive Biscuits are important because they were the very first original recipe posted on Pinch My Salt. No, it’s not a fancy recipe. No, it’s not a complicated recipe. It’s just something I threw together from what I had on hand because I was hungry. But they tasted good and I was proud enough of these silly little biscuits to get out my camera and photograph them.
I can remember feeling the need to share that biscuit recipe because I was starting to come to a realization. Cooking does not have to be complicated or difficult or time-consuming. It seemed important to me that people realize how easy it is to create something warm and comforting in your own kitchen. Why would you want to go buy a box of biscuits at Popeye’s when you can fill your entire home with the aroma of biscuits fresh from the oven in the same amount of time it would take to go pick something up? And these biscuits may not be healthiest thing in the world but I guarantee you that they are better for you than most things you would go out and buy. And this is true of almost all food you cook at home. A meal prepared at home will almost always be healthier for you than a meal purchased at a restaurant. When you prepare something yourself, you are in charge of the ingredients. You know what you are putting in your body.
When we moved to Sicily, I was overweight. We had been in the habit, like most people nowadays, of eating out a lot. When we got here, we no longer had the temptation of fast food on every corner. Instead, we were surrounded by good food everywhere we turned, and it was simple, fresh food. I lost 35 pounds within our first year while I continued to eat as much as I ever had. The difference was that I was cooking with fresh ingredients and we were eating at home more often. I don’t cook “light” meals. I cook real food. I use tons of olive oil, I still use real butter, I use real sugar. But I also try to incorporate a lot of whole grains in my cooking and baking. We eat a lot of vegetables, we eat a lot of beans. It’s all about balance and choosing real food over processed food. I’m still a little overweight but I feel healthy. I’m not interested in depriving myself of food I love in order to look perfect. If I gain weight, I keep eating and I try to exercise more 🙂
But I’m getting away from my main point. I started Pinch My Salt a year ago because I wanted other people to realize what I had realized. Cooking does not have to be a chore. Now, this is easy for me to say because I don’t have the demands of cooking for a large family every day. But I truly believe that cooking can be a fun, creative outlet and anyone can do it if they are willing to start small and learn the basics. Cooking and then eating a meal at home is nourishing for the mind, body and soul. I truly believe this and I hope that I am able to convey that through my photographs, writing, and recipes.
The Cheddar, Sour Cream, and Chive Biscuit recipe didn’t receive much attention when I wrote it one year ago but if you would like to revisit it and see the beginnings of Pinch My Salt, you can view the original post here. Thanks for reading!
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