The Perils Of A Dirty Kitchen

Still not convinced that a thorough cleaning of our kitchen is the way to go? Do you think that the inspirational ability of a clean kitchen motivating someone to cook more is overrated? Well then, let us consider the dangers you face every time you step foot in there.

CROSS CONTAMINATION

Would you like it if a raw chicken jumped up and rubbed itself inside your bowl before you ate cereal? Probably not, and yet in the average kitchen, people break down their chickens about three feet from where they keep their plates. This number drops dramatically when those plates are unwashed and crowding your counter tops. And while it's extremely unlikely that the aforementioned raw chicken will start molesting your plate, the message is clear; a dirty kitchen increases the chances of raw, old, and decomposing food coming in contact with whatever you're making. As does whatever unpleasantness that food happens to be carrying, like Salmonella, E. Coli, Listeria, and other such nastiness.

"But I keep them properly refrigerated and cook my meat all the way through!" you might say. Well, that's definitely a good start, but tell me, did you wipe down every surface that your meat touched? Did you throw your other ingredients on the same cutting board as your meat without cleaning it first? Did you cut or debone your meat? In each of these circumstances you're leaving a residual of your meat that is now at room temperature and very much in the danger zone. And anything that touches those surfaces becomes a potential source of food poisoning, which I think we can all agree is pretty unpleasant.

CLEAN FLOORS


Good rule of thumb, if you can see what's making your floor dirty, then it'll probably feel pretty gross and if you can't, then it's going to be ridiculously dangerous. There's always the risk of pouring water all over the place, and most kitchens keep things like oil and butter on hand, things that are pretty transparent should they land on the floor. All it takes is moving a little too quick through your kitchen to cause a slip, and considering the amount of counter top space available, cause some pretty serious damage to your person. Taking a mop to your floor once a week should be bare minimum! Three or four times a week is far more ideal, if not every single day.

Oh, and if you're floor happens to be this wet, it should go without saying that cleaning up should be priority one before anything else. Do remember that most of the appliances in your kitchen run on electricity, and we all know how well electricity and water get along.

SHARP THINGS


Isn't this a fun looking picture? Now imagine sticking your hand in this sink while your attention is diverted. Slashing your hand wide open is, generally speaking, a bad idea. And you're certainly going to lose your enthusiasm for cooking should this happen......which it shouldn't, because you're going to keep your kitchen clean right?

Bobby Flay Cooks For President Obama

I am no fan of Bobby Flay. I don't care for the man, or his cooking. Now if he is an inspiration and has taught you a great many things, then wonderful. I'm glad for any source that gets people into their kitchens. But, he does absolutely nothign for me personally. However, I couldn't help but smile at this video of Mr. Flay cooking with President Obama



This is just another fine example of how something so basic as cooking can bring people together. Even our president can always stand to learn something new about grilling a steak. No matter where you are in life, and what you do, there will always be food talk.

Keep on cooking!

The Dilemma Of Canned Goods

Since we've been discussing the optimization of one's kitchen, we should probably take a look at our pantries, which are most likely packed to the brink with stuff that looks just like this. Oftentimes, the canned goods can take up an entire cabinet or pantry's worth of space. So, the question must be asked: Do we really need all of this?

There are many reasons our cabinets are packed to capacity with non-perishable foodstuffs tucked in tin. The most common is pure tradition. Mom used to have tons of them, as did grandma, and it just became an unspoken accepted practice to do the same. When asked about it, the response is usually along the lines of "it's good to have for a rainy day."

The logic is sound, but bear in mind that mom and granny had rainy days that were significantly different from ours. Your mom probably had to live through the cold war, where stockpiling goods was a commonly promoted thing. And of course they had to suffer through a recession similar to the one we're in now, only without the luxury of a "dollar menu."

It's sad to say, but on our rainy days we're more likely going to order a pizza than crack open the stockpile of canned goods. Which means we've got a lot of food that we really have no intention of eating, taking up valuable space in our kitchens. Perhaps it's time to lighten the load.

Now CSD in no way suggests you completely rid yourself of all canned items in your possession. Simply to go through and filter out the things you're less than likely to use. Any item that you regularly eat and/or enjoy eating should stick around. And if the very idea of opening up that can and chomping on the contents makes your face scrunch up into a sour milk state, then it's probably best we get it as far away from us as possible. If you hate broccoli, then I guarantee you're going to really hate broccoli in a can. Having a well balanced stockpile of good in your pantry is meaningless if you don't eat it.

Here's a sampling of my ideal pantry and what canned goods it would contain:

• Spam
• Clams
• Tomatoes
  
• Mixed Fruits
• Evaporated & Condensed Milk
• Peaches
• Olives*
• Corned Beef*
• Pineapple*

(* denotes items that I wouldn't normally keep in my kitchen, but do so for the continuation of a happy relationship.)

Your item list may vary significantly. You may find the idea of eating spam utterly reprehensible, but I absolutely love the stuff when it's done right. Evaporated milk may not be the most tasty thing on a bowl of cereal, but it does wonders when making sauces or soups. And canned fruits are always tasty, and tend to be reasonably healthy as well. The goal is to have items on hand that you would want to make something out of. This way, you're less likely to go buy some fat and preservative loaded treat to munch on while you enjoy your rainy day.

Now, while I acknowledge that all people have different palettes, there are some canned foods that are simply a crime against nature. Here are some of my humble recommendations for items you should get rid of and never ever buy again:

CANNED TUNA

Sure it's healthy and a cheap source of proteins, but it tastes awful! Salty, briny, and very unpleasant to the palette. And people pour in tons of mayonnaise with their tuna to help remove some of that bitter taste, which also cancels out a lot of those health benefits. I can understand that times are hard, and one can't afford fresh tuna every day, but your body deserves better than that. And there are better alternatives out there....

CANNED BEANS

If you love beans, chances are good you buy them fresh and make them right. And if you hate beans, well then you're probably not going to eat them anyways are you?

CANNED CHILI

The mentality that holds true for beans holds true for chili. It's better when it's fresh and done yourself. And you don't pay that much of a premium for the real deal (in some ways it can even be cheaper,) so steer clear of the cans

CANNED PEAS AND CORN

As always, the real stuff tastes better and is usually cheaper than the cans. But, these two items are highly seasonal, which means you may not be able to buy fresh corn come November. The better alternative in this case, is to go frozen. One of the characteristics we enjoy so much about both corn and peas is the crispness, and that's not something you get from the canned variety. Being frozen retains the texture, and specifically in the case of peas, makes for a dining experience that is very similar to fresh.

CANNED SOUPS

Now bear with me on this one. I fully acknowledge that canned soup is basically a staple in this country, but this is a cooking blog, and I'm not here to talk about cooking stuff with clear instructions on the back of a can. I'm here to talk about making things that taste better than what you'd find in those cans. And I have never found a canned soup or stew that made me enjoy eating. I'm willing to guess that you haven't either. So, I relegate the canned stuff to something that is best made by hand.

Once you've made up your ideal list of canned items to keep, I would recommend keeping no more than 2-3 cans of each item. This would strike a good balance between having some backup food handy, and not creating to much excess clutter. Line each item up in neat rows to make locating it easier (I'm sure we've all seen the canned good shuffle from time to time, a person frantically pushing cans to the side looking for an item that "they know they had at least one more of.")

Feel free to share your canned experiences in the comments section below.

Your Cooking Environment

So, in order to inspire a bit of culinary initiative, we need to first start with our environment. If we're gonna dedicate ourselves to cooking more food in our homes, we need a setting that is conducive to a pleasurable experience. So, stand up and go take a look at your kitchen right now. Does it look anything like this?


If you've answered yes, then clearly your cooking environment needs some work.

We like our work spaces to be clean don't we? Of course we do. Clutter can suck the lifeblood out of any initiative we may be feeling. This means we're more prone to sit in the mess we made and do nothing, which is clearly unacceptable. So, if you can't get work done while sitting at a messy desk, then odds are you won't be able to cook for yourself in a messy kitchen. Therefore, this is the first thing we must fix.

STEP ONE: INITIAL CLEANING

So, take an afternoon, order a pizza if you must, and clean the heck out of your kitchen. We're talking floors mopped, counter-tops wiped, and all dishes washed, dried, and neatly put away. I want the place sparkling and smelling of bleach. This will be the hardest, and most unpleasant part of the job, but trust me when I say it is crucial. By starting with a clean environment, we can make the next part of this process that much easier to plan.

STEP TWO: DISPOSAL

This, despite being a little dirty, can actually be fun. It gives us the chance to make a clean slate, and honestly, how can you hate doing that? The idea here is to remake our kitchen into a place we'd actually like to spend time in. Remember, cooking should never feel like a prison sentence.

I'm sure many of you have caught the wide variety of remodeling programs on Fine Living, and have probably flipped through more than a few magazines of that ilk at your local bookstore. And I'm sure all of us have gone "ooh" and "aah" at this photos, and strongly desired to make our kitchen look that sharp. Well, if you have the money and time on hand to do so, I say go for it. Hire Ty Pennington if it's in the budget, and make yourself that photo-worthy kitchen you've been lusting after. Personally, I can't afford it, and I'm guessing neither can you. So let's talk about the things we can do without spending a dime (a price I'm sure everyone can appreciate.)

Did you know that the most popular wedding and/or housewarming gift is kitchen gadgets? Friends and family alike are always happy to give you a new set of spatulas or whisks or something that they figure you'll surely need. And usually, this means that you the recipient, will end up with tons of kitchen stuff that gets stuffed away in drawers because you're too nice to throw it out. And then one day you reach into your drawer to get a spoon and see this:


Just looking at this picture I can see at least half a dozen things you won't need. A good kitchen should run lean, utilizing only the most needed tools that can multitask for a variety of uses, and can be stored without too much effort. We want simple utensils, basic equipment, and none of that fancy stuff that gets peddled on late night infomercials.

So, how do we know which stuff we can get rid of? It's easy, just follow this guide.

KEEP THE GADGET IF:

It's something you actually use.

GET RID OF THE GADGET IF:

It is too uncomfortable to use.
It feels like it's cheap enough to break if you did use it.
It's something you find in the back of a drawer with a thick coating of dust on it.
The last time you handled the tool was when you stuffed it in the back of the drawer.
You have more than one of the gadget in question.

Toss all this culinary detritus into a box. From there you can give it to goodwill, or take it around the neighborhood, letting people pick items they're missing from their kitchens. Either way, we don't want it in our homes any more. Clearing out any unused tools and gadgets makes space for the stuff we do use. And space, is a very valuable commodity in the kitchen.

Once we've gotten rid of the tools, let's poke around the drawers for edibles. Do you have a drawer in the house that looks like this?


If you've just nodded embarrassingly, then you know that this will not do. We typically keep any food we plan on eating in either the refrigerator or on dedicated shelves/counter-tops that are within our line of sight. Food items that end up in a drawer are most likely to be forgotten. We're quicker to go buy ourselves a new bag of beans than use the bag we bought a year ago. But, mom always taught us not to throw any food that's still good away, so there those beans sit, getting older and older.

Let me assure you, you will never eat those beans. And even if you did, they'll probably taste so bad, you'll wish you hadn't. You can attempt to donate them to a food bank if you like, but it's probably easier to just throw them away. Either way, get all of that old stuff out of there. If the item in question has been sitting unopened for more than a month, I say it becomes fair game for the trash can. Remember, the idea here is to start fresh, and to build up the most effective kitchen we can, not to hold onto unusable remnants.

STEP THREE: REDECORATION

Once all of that stuff is out of your kitchen, you can now look at how to use all that wonderful space you've made for yourself. Feel free to be as pretty as you want (this would look nice here, and this would be oh-so cute here,) but do remember that efficiency is very important in the kitchen. And you want the things you use the most close at hand. So factor that into your redesign. Place similar items in similar drawers, making it easier to grab more than one thing at the same time. Move cookware and appliances to a comfortably close distance to the stove. If you have toast at every meal, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to have the toaster reasonably close to where you put food on a plate. There are safety factors to be considered in all this, obviously we don't want any injuries in our nice refurbished kitchen, but I think you're all smart enough not to put flammable items near the heat, or electrical items too close to the sink. If in doubt about your appliances, follow the recommendations on your user manuals (which hopefully you still have. If you feel there is even the slightest chance that something could catch on fire, or cause an electrical spark because of proximity to water, it's best to not take any chances.

Clearly, this is not a process that can happen easily. It may require an entire weekend to do it completely right, but the rewards are well worth it. By the end of it all, you'll be standing in a kitchen that is clean, comfortable, and enjoyable to be in. And when you're staring at this shiny room filled with your hard work and accomplishment, I guarantee there will be a voice in your mind that says, "I'd kind of like to cook something now."

So, Why Aren't You Cooking?

I've heard all the excuses before. Every lingering reason as to why people refuse to cook for themselves, opting instead to load up on preservative-laden, quick, and easy food. These people continue to maliciously torture their bodies while making empty promises to "cook something tomorrow." I've heard your reasons, and I remain unconvinced.

Let's take a look at the three most common excuses people use to not cook for themselves shall we?

• IT TAKES TOO MUCH TIME
• IT COSTS TOO MUCH MONEY
• IT'S TOO HARD

Shenanigans people! Time is short for all of us, and yet everyone still manages to do the things in their lives that they need to get done. We pay our bills, keep our houses clean, and keep our vehicles maintained, so why can't we add cooking our own food to this? Now, allow me to debunk these lame excuses one by one.

IT COSTS TOO MUCH MONEY

I admit, there is some truth to this. It does take a little money to get started cooking. You will need some equipment that is specific to your kitchen, and while there is a way of doing it quite cheaply, I don't recommend it. The end result of using the cheapest gear that can be found in a mega-mart households section will be burnt food, hurt hands, and a pure unadulterated hatred for one's cooking space. So yeah, spending up is a good idea.

But it doesn't have to be ridiculously expensive either. You shouldn't have to be on a first name basis with the people at Williams Sonoma or anything. Take a moment and think about the people working at your favorite local restaurant. Now, unless you're regularly eating at Le Bernadin or Alinea, chances are good that restaurant isn't using top quality stuff either. Most restaurateurs simply can't afford spending $100+ on a single pan, and most hired cooks can't afford to outfit themselves with those sparkly big name knives and digital thermometers either. They make do with decent equipment that's within a functional budget. And you can do the same.

As for ingredients, well they can also be pricey. Artisan breads, specialty cheeses, and things like fois gras can break a budget in a single meal. Even the fluffy big toothed celebrities on Food Network, despite their claims of keeping things inexpensive, throw a few high cost items into the mix. It's almost like the powers that be are trying to force you to spend a lot just to eat right.

Well, I find that mentality completely unnecessary. My budget doesn't permit me the luxury of eating Filet Mingon every night either. In fact, if I'm eating Filet Mingon once a month, then it's been a pretty prosperous month. But I still manage to eat very well with the same inexpensive ingredients that you have access to. The idea here isn't to make food that looks as shiny and glorious as Emiril's the idea is just to make something.

IT TAKES TOO MUCH TIME

Yeah, I get it, you have a job. And you've probably got a spouse/roommate/significant other, and chances are good they've got a job too. This means that you come home after a long day, most likely after a long fight with traffic, feeling completely exhausted. And this doesn't even factor in kids. So, you might feel it's safe to say that you don't have the time to prepare a home-cooked meal.

Well then, let me ask you this: What do you do with the free time you do have?

If you've answered, "watch TV," then guess what? You have time to cook for yourself. Seriously, in the era of Tivo, there's nothing out there that you just can't watch a little later. And even if you don't have Tivo, most kitchens are conveniently built living room-adjacent, so it's not like you can't just sneak a peek from time to time. There are few dishes out there that involve your constant presence in the kitchen. So, it comes down to this, is American Idol really so important, that you'd stuff preservative rich quick foods in your gut just so you won't miss a second? If you answered yes to that question, I fear there may be little hope for you.

I think a lot of the problem is that going into the kitchen for a lot of people sort of feels like punishment. The cook has to go into this hot messy dungeon to slave away making food, while everyone else gets to have fun with their time. And I can see how this would be very discouraging. But I'm not an advocate of this lifestyle, I figure if I'm going to go into the kitchen to make a meal, then I want everyone to come with me.

The kitchen is the ultimate communal center. It's where people do away with formalities, stop being so darned polite, and just talk to each other. The kitchen has this unmistakable power to make something feel casual and fun. Perhaps it's the warm casual atmosphere of the kitchen, perhaps it's the comfort of being fed that the kitchen brings, and perhaps it's the fact that we all subconsciously know that no matter how clean the rest of our house is, blood and fat are mutilated often in this part of the home. Whatever the case may be, people like hanging out in the kitchen. I know that during the holidays, my family all hang out in the kitchen, chopping vegetables and laughing about nothing. I'm going to guess your family does things the same way.

So, the idea isn't to isolate yourselves alone in the kitchen while a hungry mob entertain themselves and wait for you to finish. The idea is to bring the mob with you. Bring your spouse/roommate/significant other with you. Assign them tasks to do for the meal, have them dry dishes while you wash them. Basically, cut your workload in half. And while they're there, it'd e a fine time to talk about your day, maybe trade a joke or two. If you've got kids, have them help you with the cooking. Not only will you be involved in their lives, they'll actually learn something in the process.

Either way, the goal is to make the time you spend in the kitchen fun.

IT'S TOO HARD

Nobody's asking you to whip up Michelin-grade food people. We needn't employ time intensive, gourmet-class techniques every time we set foot in our kitchens. There are tons of dishes out there that are no strain, easy to assemble, and also happen to taste really good. As I said before, the idea here isn't to whip up stuff that you'd expect to see in some high class restaurant (although you're more than welcome to if you're willing,) it's just to do some cooking. And of course, to make that cooking taste real good. None of these things are hard people.

Still not convinced? Do you still blankly stare at the local mega mart meat section and find yourselves in a panic because they don't know what all these different cuts of meat are?
Well, that's what this blog is here. Stay tuned.

Food is Joy

Take a moment and think back to some of the happiest memories of your life, I'm willing to bet that food was a big part of those memories you're having.

It's no surprise really, considering how big of a role food plays with us. The average human eats at least three times a day and, once you factor in snacking, typically a whole lot more. We are constantly eating, which means that it becomes highly likely that a happy moment in time will have food being apart of it.

And of course, there is the effect that food has on the human body. Firstly, having food means feeling full, and it's hard to be in a grouchy mood when you're full. The body's now preoccupied with utilizing all those tasty nutrients, and isn't so quick to fire of heaps of adrenaline to fuel the ornery tendencies. So, the more full you are, the happier you're gonna be (of course, there is a point of diminishing returns where being too full has a negative effect. I'm sure we've all been there.)

Food also comes in the form of climax. You see, we always want to feel quenched, so when we're hungry, we build up a great deal of subconscious anticipation. You know that agony you feel before Thanksgiving dinner, when you can smell everything cooking and just know you're gonna eat soon, but you still have to wait for it to be done? That's the stuff right there. And with anticipation comes climax, a joyous realization with that first bite of food that tells both the boy and mind, "Yay! I'm eating!"

And what good is a climax without a pleasurable outcome? A good meal creates a firing of endorphins in the brain, and endorphins are a wondrous thing indeed. You see, endorphins are like naturally produced opium, that are designed to help ease pain, relax the body, and make one feel pretty darn good. In this case, the pain of hunger is reduced, making way for the intake of sensation through seeing, smelling, and swallowing. Basically, you eat something good, and then your body makes you happy. How's that for math?

Now incorporate a bunch of people who are equally happy, eating the same good food with each other, and you have the makings for a very pleasant memory.

What's interesting is despite how common this process is, it takes different foodstuffs to create it. Your aunt's potato salad may be the nectar of the gods to you, but to me it's might just be potato salad. This isn't just because because we're different people with different electrical impulses and taste buds, it's also because our experiences are different. I ate grew up eating in a completely different way from you, and what I consider amazing food will be different as a result.

So, does that mean that a Big Mac can be a cultural milestone? Absolutely! Anything we eat can cause those same feelings of giddiness, and eventually nostalgia, but do remember that such milestones can and always do change. And like a great many things, food is only as good as how often you have it.

Returning to your aunt's potato salad, I'm going to guess half of what made it so good was the fact that she only made it for you during special occasions. It was one of those things that you looked forward to during celebrations and holidays. Now, had you eaten that same potato salad every single day, it wouldn't be so memorable anymore. As a youngster growing up, I lived in the country far detached from the urban lifestyle. This means that getting to have a Happy Meal was something I only did once in a big while. This made the event special, and boy those little cheeseburgers were some of the most magical things I had ever eaten.

Now? Not so much. Having gotten my fair share of McDonald's in my later years, I've completely burned myself out on whatever magic they may have held for me. They just don't taste as good as when I used to eat them sparingly. And also, I have since eaten way better burgers.

That's the other thing, the milestone shifts exponentially when the eats you're getting now are far better than what you were getting before. Suddenly going back doesn't make you as happy as it used to, now it's sort of a disappointment.

Sad as this sounds, it isn't a bad thing. It just means that you've opened a few more culinary doors and like what you've found. It also means that we have something to shoot for. Consider the people in your life, your friends, spouses or loved ones, perhaps a family of your own. Wouldn't it be something to create a milestone or two for their lives? Something in their hearts that will always remember you, and the happy time you gave them? It's something I shoot for every time I step foot into the kitchen, and wish for you to do the same.

About The Editor

I am not a chef.

I just want to say that right off the bat, I’ve not spent years toiling away in high class kitchens serving out dishes of gourmet food by the hundreds to hungry masses. I have no culinary education degree (at least not yet anyways,) and have never made a living out of food beyond running my dad’s ice cream shop when I was seven.

If you were seeking a grizzled old pro, or one of those fluffy celeb chefs that frequent Food Network to talk food with, I clearly am not your guy. I, much like you, am just someone who really likes to eat.

Food is one of my great passions. I spend a lot of time reading, watching food-related programming, and tucked away in my little dark kitchen practicing and experimenting. I have amassed a small handful of recipes that I feel confident I can deliver competently, and I’m crazy enough to eat just about anything. So, I tend to take great pride in what I put on a plate, and do my best to maintain a sense of humility with the volumes of stuff I don’t know yet. Put simply, I love to cook.

So what qualifies me to talk about cooking in a competent way? Well, if credentials is what you seek, I am an educator with several years in the field. I’ve taught people of all ages, for a variety of employers ranging from government to schools, to the impoverished nonprofits, a hefty variety of subjects. Subject matters include epidemiology, entomology, the water cycle and first aid, just to name a few. And I’ve had had to explain all these things to a wide range of people, and find some way of making them understand exactly what I’m getting at.

So, I figure that if people trust my ability to certify someone to administer CPR in an emergency situation, then I probably won’t be too bad talking about something that I actually like doing.

So, if my credibility is now shot in your eyes, this is probably the point we should bid each other farewell. I wish you the greatest in success of finding something out there that rings true for your culinary voice out on the big wide web.

For those of you that have decided to stick around, I think we’re gonna have a blast. I’m gonna throw everything I’ve picked up at you. And, still being a student of the culinary arts, anything new I learn, you’re gonna learn as well. So basically we’re all gonna get good at this together.

And I’m sure I’ll make mistakes. I’ll get my facts wrong, and probably make more than a few erroneous calls about the science of cooking. But, we’ll sort it all out as we go along. Don’t forget, life’s all about mistakes. Without them, we wouldn’t have anything to learn from. And it’s not about getting it perfect, it’s just to cook a little better and enjoy the results.

-Editor-in-chief-

Welcome To CSD

So, you've been wanting to cook have you?

Of course you have. Why else would you find yourself on this little website if a little culinary know-how wasn't on your mind? These days it seems like a lot of people are doing it. Many food based publications are considering it the new trend, and you the phrase "Staying home is the new eating out," has been thrown out on more than one occasion. Frankly, I'm not sure how I feel about something so integral to our culture and health as cooking for ourselves only recently becoming popular because of trends, but I'm just glad it's finally starting to happen.

Cooking for yourself is a thing of beauty. The simple act of stepping into one's kitchen and preparing a meal can go beyond sheer sustenance. Why, just the act of cooking can help relieve stress, inspire creativity, unite the family, and of course the end result of cooking is usually the eating, which isn't too bad either. The transformation of raw naturally produced materials into something so satisfying just by applying some heat can be astounding. It's a freakish science that few can explain, but all can enjoy.

And I won't lie to you, it will be tough. Cooking definitely comes with it's own bag of challenges. Bear in mind, we're dealing with unique equipment here, and raw ingredients that seem to change into something else when you warm them up. There's a reasonably high likelihood of failure here, and if one isn't careful, you could have a pile of over-salted, overcooked, bad tasting mush on your plate when all is said and done.

This is probably why you haven't been doing it right? You're a hungry person and really don't want to risk your precious time making something that's just gonna taste awful. It's been a lot easier to let someone else do it for you and guarantee the results. The programming on Food Network probably hasn't made it any easier. Oh sure, there are plenty of smiling faces shoving moderately attractive food into the camera, but it's nothing that's inspired you to get in your kitchen and make something.So where can a hungry, confused soul go to learn a few things about food, and maybe get inspired?

Well, why not start here?

CSD Foodstuffs was not designed to be the kind of places that waxes poetically about overpriced ingredients like truffles or saffron, it's not a place that highlights the top names in high-cost kitchen gear, nor is it about showing off wonderous picture of food that other people have made.

We're here to talk about cooking at it's most basic level. CSD Foodstuffs acknowledges that you are an intelligent person and already have some experience with cooking. Perhaps you're not a culinary pioneer (yet,) but you certainly know how things work. And we've all got culinary history built into us through mothers and grandmothers who've had specialty recipes that excited us every time they were whipped up. And, considering how much we eat, we've got plenty of experience with the subject matter to know what tastes good. Humans are loaded with taste-buds and, assuming they haven’t been burned off with fast food yet, tend use them every single day. So this blog isn’t here to sell you a bunch of garbage you don’t need or load you up with recipe cards you’ll never use. No, we are here to inspire, and to educate. To provide you with the foundation to make any meal you make into something killer, and to create the desire to make those meals more often. We are here to cook.

So, get ready for a thrill ride into a culinary nirvana, spawned by your own two hands. It is time to cook something damnit!