 A little about me and my food history
I realized not too long ago that not many people my age or in my area/social circles share the kind of passion I have for cooking, which is why I joined this forum. I'm a 22 year old home cook with a degree in chemical engineering, and if you have ever been to a chemical plant (which is where all your processed food is made) you'll know that this kind of engineering is essentially cooking on a huge scale with all kinds of ingredients (raw materials). Well, this line of study did not really put me in contact with anyone who loves cooking the way I LOVE cooking, leaving me with no one to talk to on the subject.
My Italian grandparents graduated high school, bought a restaurant/bar/banquet hall and went from poor to rich (ah the American dream) so growing up there and around them put me in direct contact with the mindset that food cures everything. I also learned to make some killer clam sauce among other things.
I have to say despite my choice of study, I absolutely hate the idea of unnatural processed food and all their unpronounceable additives, something just seems wrong with eating, say, ham out of a can (spam anyone?). I make whatever I can from scratch and support the few people left who actually learn and continue things like the art of making cheese, or who farm their land responsibly and naturally and raise their animals gently, without hormones/antibiotics, and let them roam and see the light of day...that sort of thing. I wish we could take the "factory" out of farming, food production, and agriculture...
That leads me to my other passion, gardening. On my budget, I eat a lot of fruit and veggies, they cost less than meat. My garden was grown from heirloom seed in my spare bedroom, planted outside in a raised bed, and provides fresh tomatoes (san marzano (reds) for sauce, Carbon (purple) for slicing on sandwiches, Dr. Carolyn (cherry sized yellow) for my signature fresh tomato sauce), eggplant (Casper (white), Listada de Gandia (purple and white)), 5 varieties of bell peppers, sweet Italian basil, parsley, Turkish cucumbers, zucchini, green beans, broccoli rabe, and dandelion greens.
I want to make the best tasting food possible so I grow the best tasting food I can. The fresher the better...and I like variety and tradition.
I will try any recipe, I like challenges and I have spent many a Saturday morning assembling monster sized lasagna and experimenting for hours. I think less is more and I have respect for time honored cooking methods, such as in the making of polenta. I am very fond of ethnic food, favoring the Mediterranean region, middle eastern cuisines and others. And lastly, if you like the science of food, the chemistry of cooking, then we will have lots to discuss.  | 
