The Accidental Cook (Garlic Bread)

I never thought I’d be able to cook. But then again I’d never really given it much thought. I grew up with a mum who is an excellent cook so it seemed counterintuitive and frankly quite daft to interfere in something she was so good at and seemed to do so quickly and effortlessly. In hindsight I wish I had started cooking earlier. It would have given my mum a well-deserved break and perhaps I could have found my passion for cooking much sooner.

So how did I end up being an accidental cook? Well it’s a case of needs must. I got married! Getting home from work a good hour earlier than hubby (I will refer to him as N from now on) I thought it was only fair that I should prepare something for dinner. But before I could think about that I had more pressing issues. My first priority was to clear out N’s supply of shop-bought frozen garlic bread. I kid you not, every drawer of our three drawer freezer was filled with every form of garlic bread you could think of – garlic baguettes, garlic slices, garlic pizza – the list goes on. He was mortified to start with, until I made him my homemade version that put all the others to shame. We’ve never eaten shop-bought garlic bread since.

Then came the next issue.  What on earth do you cook for dinner every day? Now, I know I’m not alone here; everyone must have this same problem. But for me this thought opened up a whole new world.  A world I find I am quite partial to. In fact, a world I find I love. 

So here it is, my food blog. Adventures of an accidental cook.  I advise you now, I am not a trained chef. I just have a passion for cooking and make tasty food for regular people. I promise I’ll try and make what I write relevant and I promise I’ll try and make it interesting, but above all I promise that I will write about the things I love. Food and cooking in all its glory.

I hope you enjoy reading this blog. If you do take the time to log on please leave a comment. What you agree with, what you disagree with, what you’re making for dinner, how your day was, anything really. I’m hoping it won’t just be a blog of me rambling on about food, interspersed with some recipes and the occasional rant. I hope we can generate discussion, share ideas and have some fun.

Below is my trusty garlic bread recipe, something simple to get started. Log in at the end of the week for another one of my favourite recipes…a must for every home cook’s repertoire.

Garlic Bread

(Serves 2 as an accompaniment)

Ingredients

4-5 inch portion of ciabatta cut in half down the middle

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves – peeled and crushed

Dried Italian herbs

Method

·         Preheat the grill on low/medium

·         In a small bowl mix together the crushed garlic and olive oil (you can use butter instead of olive oil if you prefer, but I warn you there are a lot more calories in it!)

·         Spoon the mixture evenly over the ciabatta

·         Sprinkle with Italian herbs

·         Place under the grill for 5 minutes or until brown