Modus Operandi for Disaster... My Cooking Adventures

My brother wrote a comment on my previous blog that I should write one about my cooking escapades. I had been thinking the same thing and decided that this was a sign (Like the Flowing River by Paulo Coelho spoke so much about these signs that I am now hooked to them too! ) and that I should write about cooking.
I had never entered the kitchen till I was about 22 years old. (Oh! I am exaggerating, of course I had entered the kitchen...I obviously didn't grow to be 22 without drinking even a single drop of water that I got myself from the kitchen...OR all those snacks that I helped myself to) 22 to 24 passed in gaining expertise over cutting vegetables in the smallest of sizes. And then the craze for cooking began. The kitchen was soon to become my playground. And once in a while, along comes a dish that changes the name of the game.
My brother's friends asked him if he had health insurance. My friends pitied the people who had no choice but to push what was served to them down their throats and prayed that God help them. And when I told a friend that I am going to blog my cooking adventures he had these things to say... Do mention about the time when all those people got stomach aches after eating your cooking And also about the time when u added so much salt that the Dead Sea became a fresh water lake! He was being a meanie as usual. These things never happened (Or maybe my friends did fall ill but they never told me as they didn't want to hurt me. Nah! I would like to believe that isn't true!!)
But there was encouragement too... someone said Hey! I am sure one day you will be an excellent cook, invite me home for lunch on that day. Another said so what if your burfi this time turned into something that looks and tastes like halwa, you can tell everyone you made halwa!
My grand aunt who lives in the same building says the whole building will know which weekends Bhavana is cooking as she starts the day with multiple shopping trips. No No... I don't go shopping for clothes and accessories to motivate me so early in the morning... I have to make several trips to Namdhari's up the road to fulfill my cooking needs, considering I cook these exotic (Ya I love to use big words on my cooking there is actually nothing exotic about it) dishes, most of the time I will have to make these trips to fulfill the ingredient needs in the recipe. Actually the process starts from even before the shopping trips. I go online research multiple cooking websites try all sorts of combinations from these multiple sites and come up with the recipe. Who said cooking is easy! It involves a whole lot of R and D that goes into it. oh ya and then the documentation as well.. I have a recipe book where I am making a note of everything that I cook for future reference!
I have the most dedicated fan in my brother though. He will enter the kitchen when I have just kept something to simmer and every time there is a standard line. There is something cooking that smells nice! And the most ridiculous of tastes are enjoyed by him only because I cooked them. Thanks Little Brother! There have been times when I sit back in repentance wondering why I ever started cooking that particular dish. But that smile on his face makes me feel that it is worth it.
So here is hoping that some day people will realize that I am good culinarian. Well it's a long way off though... I need to convince myself of that first! I love to envision myself using a cooking range in a white apron and a white toque cooking something delicious on one of the flames, the OTG Oven baking some cookies below and the Microwave screeching to tell me that the vegetables that I put in it are ready for further treatment. Oh the screeching reminds me! This is a dream! Back to work Bhavana!!