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My midlife crisis arrived about twenty years too early. The year was 2001 and I had been working in the modeling industry for almost 15 years — basically since I was a teenager. Modeling afforded me many wonderful opportunities for which I will always be grateful, but it didn’t really fulfill me.
I had always dreamed of going to culinary school, yet the thought of simply abandoning what I had done for so long to start something completely new gave me great anxiety, no matter how determined as I was to find my true calling. I researched several culinary programs but never could commit to do anything more than take a tour. And so there I remained, lost, two years shy of my 30th birthday and entirely too young to be so confused about what I was doing with my life.
I was living in New York back then and had made an appointment one day to see yet another school, the Institute of Culinary Education. The tour date was September 11th and as you can probably figure out for yourself, I did not get to visit the school that day. As it did for many people I know, 9/11 forced me to reexamine my life. I decided within days of that unspeakable tragedy that if I was ever going to follow my dream, that was the moment.
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I spent the next year as happy as I’ve ever been, working during the day and going to school at night. As hard as it was, I still romanticize that period of my life for the sumptuous meals (my schoolwork) that I would bring home from my classes for my future hubby and I to enjoy late at night after our long days of work and school.
This all finally brings me to the whole reason for the recipe below. While at I.C.E., I was blessed to meet one of the kindest, sweetest, most talented women I know. At a very young age, Sarah Copeland knew exactly what she wanted to be and she made it happen. A veteran of the Food Network, writer, food-expert, urban gardner and co-founder of Share Our Strength’s Good Food Garden’s Campaign, Sarah’s most recent exploit is The Newlywed Cookbook. Not only is this amazing book rich in information and stories, it features tantalizing food photography and delectable recipes which are perfect for both the newbie and experienced cook. Below is one of my many favorites from the book. I made it for Kenya’s snack one day and all the kids (and their moms) went nuts for it.
Rise and Shine Muffins
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 medium carrots, peeled and grated (2 cups)
- 1/2 medium zucchini, grated (1 cup)
- 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
- 1/3 cup pine nuts
- 3 large eggs
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F.
- Place the raisins in a small bowl, cover with hot water, and set aside to plump.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.
- Stir in the carrots, zucchini, pecans, and pine nuts.
- In another large bowl whisk together the eggs, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla.
- Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
- Drain the raisins and stir them into the batter.
- Fill greased or paper-lined muffin tin 3/4 full with batter.
- Bake 25 minutes (15 minutes for mini muffins) or until a wooden pick inserted into muffins comes out clean.
- Serve.
- *From The Newlywed Cookbook by Sarah Copeland-reprinted with permission from Chronicle Books
It was probably Chicken Parmesan.
I have no idea what I first made for him, it’s been too long. I do remember our first Thanksgiving together and we’ve come a long way since then…. the bird is now fully cooked when we pull it off the bbq and the potatoes are smooth and creamy, no longer from a box.
I don’t even remember. I was working as a restaurant manager, so I wasn’t even home most evenings. I remember baking a German Chocolate Cake for my mom’s birthday and inviting my parents over to eat it and take a look at my wedding photos that I was putting together for the photographer to put in a book.
I have known my husband for 13 years, since we were 19! In college I don’t remember doing much cooking. Probably the first thing I really made was a full Thanksgiving Dinner that I served to my best friend (future husband) and the rest of our college friends!
the first thing i made for my boyfriend was a tofu scramble which he ate and it turns out he hates tofu and bell peppers!! as a newlywed the first thing i made hime was meatloaf! turns out my meatloaf cooking skills are lacking and it was slimy and burnt but still delicious and he ever so kindly ate it anyways!!
A terrible, terrible spaghetti dinner. Oh how far I have come! 🙂
I made a chicken limone which we now joke about as Pucker Chicken. (TOO tart–I added too much lemon).
A green olive and chicken dish from Guiliano Hazzan’s cookbook — I can’t remember the exact name… but he loved it!
The first thing i made was chicken soup!
The first meal I made as a newlywed was BBQ beef brisket, roasted vegetables and roasted rosemary red potatoes with salad and rolls. It was delicious! He was pretty impressed too! 😉
I’m pretty sure the first meal I made my husband was a spicy pork and green bean dish, but a better story is the first one he ever made me when we first started dating. Pork chops. yup, that’s it. No vegetable, no rice or potatoes, just the meat. He pulled out a can of green beans to microwave up. I STILL make fun of him for that one 10 years later, so clearly he needs a easy-to-follow cookbook! 🙂
I cooked for a family during college but once I got married I got nervous. I remember buring pork chops right after we got married and my hubby thought it was so funny but I was so ready to climb under a rock
Tinolang Manok (Chicken Tinola, a Filipino soup)!
The first night we met, a group of our mutual friends went out for cocktails. As nights in NYC often do, one drink turned to many, and my future hubby suggested a late-night slice of pizza. I was like, “Pizza? Why don’t you come over and I’ll make you a batch of homemade soup?” A tita (my friend’s mom) introduced me to the recipe (which uses garlic, ginger, fish sauce, chicken, spinach, and chayotes). Needless to say, it was love at first bite!!!
I believe it was a risotto!
Homemade Mac n cheese. He knew I was trying to fatten him up! 🙂
The first meal I made my hubby was my version of spagetti which consisted of boiling noodles draining them and then adding cold Ragu sauce. (i grew up eating it this way) He thought it was the weirdest thing ever 🙂