Some of the best recipes are found in personal cookbooks from family, friends, PTAs etc… My son’s childcare at Eastgate Elementary put out a call for all of our children’s favorite recipes and the Dutch Baby recipe taken from that cookbook has become a favorite in our family.

On streetdirectory.com the love of cooking is “boiled” down to the four F’s:

1.Fun: Cooking isn’t just something that we have to do in order to eat on a daily basis.  There are endless opportunities to have fun while you’re cooking…and then you get to eat!

2.Friends: It’s always more fun to cook while chatting, listening to music, or just being with someone else. Making food is an enriching experience, and who better to share it with than your friends.

3.Family: Cooking is one of those activities that can bring a whole family together.  It is an experience that can be shared by the entire family.

4.Food: What would cooking be without the food?! The joy of cooking is that you can make whatever you want, whenever you want, for whomever you want. You can make the food spicy, savory or sweet. You can boil it, steam it, broil it or bake it. You can serve it raw, medium rare, a la mode, on ice or on fire. There are so many choices, endless tastes and flavors that can be mixed together to satisfy those who will eat anything to those with a refined palette. And the best thing about cooking is you get to eat what you just prepared!

Cooking does not have to be a chore.Cooking and eating brings people together and bonds them like few other experiences in life. It can be an enjoyable experience that is fun, with friends and/or family and good food.

I love to cook because I love to eat.

On the menu:  My son and I both love a warm puffy Dutch Baby (or German Pancake) for breakfast!  It can be served topped with a little syrup, powdered sugar or poached fruit.