James' Cooking Blog?

I have a long and complicated history with cooking. Cooking, generally, has been stressful. One of the accomplishments of which I am most proud of late is going back into the kitchen and finding a sense of confidence. I found this confidence step by step. First, working through a food that I love and wanted to be able to make for myself: eggs. I was so proud I recorded the date and time when I cooked my first egg: 2024-01-26 at 11:32am. An early lunch.

When I first made an egg for myself, I thought: wow. A world of cooking of which I was previously scared (yay, anxiety!, he says sarcastically) was open. I can make food that isn't prepared in a microwave.

I have progressively moved through several dishes of varying, relative complexity, some prepared with success and others not so much. Poached egg? A (surprising) success! Omelette? A (surprising) mess. Salmon cooked in an air fryer? Delicious. With each dish, I am learning something new. I tried to make bagels but I didn't have all the ingredients. I did not have the sugar I needed to add with the yeast. I didn't have an egg brush so I... tried to pour the egg whites over the bagels. The bagels turned out a big eggy and hard in the end. But, I learned a lot about what to do, and not to, for next time I try.

I have been baking, too. I used to love making scones and crumbles, two recipes we learned in school cooking class. I loved these recipes primarily because I was the chief consumer of them. Despite being a picky eater growing up, scones and crumbles were always welcome. I made something that was delicious to me; something meaningful. This year, I have rediscovered that sense of wonder about cooking; the same sense of wonder that got me started with this blog: James' Coffee Blog. I can make something delightful.

I wanted to share a few photos of things I have baked lately. Perhaps they will inspire you to try a new recipe! Recipes are linked below.

Breakfast sandwich

In New York last year, I was made aware of a delightful food called the "breakfast sandwich." I tried to make my own, using the following process:

• Pre-heat pan. Add butter. Heat until the pan is melted.
• Cook an egg in a pre-heated pan with butter on a medium heat for ~3 minutes. Prepare sunny side up.
• Toast a bagel.
• Grate cheese.
• Take the egg out of the pan and put it on the bagel. Optionally, add pepper.
• Add cheese to the top of the bagel.
• Enjoy.

Blueberry muffins

I love blueberry... everything. Muffins are a particular favourite, a rare treat I would get in Starbucks on family holidays when I was young.

I followed a BBC Good Food recipe to make these muffins. They are great.

Scones

Years have passed since my last attempt to make a British classic: the scone. This week, I prepared a batch of scones following a plain scone recipe from BBC Good Food. One key learning from this recipe: make sure you do not stretch your dough out too much. The recipe says you can make four scones. Your dough should be wide enough to support cutting exactly four scones. If your dough is stretched too thin, the scones still come out delicious but are not as tall as a usual scone.

For next time, I want to add some fruit to the scones. Blueberries, perhaps?

James' Cooking Blog?

I am not planning to start a cooking blog, but I might blog a bit more about the food I have been making. This year, generally, I have been doing more things away from the computer. I need new sources of inspiration as input to what I write. To find inspiration, I must explore. Do new things. Look at things differently. Cooking has been a delightful adventure. I am learning, making (mostly) good food, and feel a bit more confident.

Have you seen a good recipe for beginners that you think I might like? Send me an email at readers [at] jamesg [dot] blog.