Nichole's Intro

Hello, my name is Nichole Hernandez, i am Madeline's best friend and co-creator of this blog. I don't feel right calling myself that because Madeline does everything, she is just kind enough to give me that title:) I love food and i love to cook even more. I can't really say that one person inspired me to learn to cook but i do remember a couple people, i guess you could say, influencing me in different ways. First being Mom...she is a great  and adventurous cook. The thing i always remember about her and her cooking is that she was never afraid to try new things and was/is always experimenting with new spices and ingredients. That's kind of the way i cook today, i love to work with new ingredients and sometimes mix spices and flavors that you would never expect to be in the same dish. I think if you asked my husband what he likes most about my cooking, it would be that. The other person that influenced me would be my Grandma Pat...she passed away when i was 17 years old but i still have vivid memories or dishes that she made, i can remember how they smelled and tasted and how great they looked. It makes me feel close to her when i make her dishes or cook from her cookbook. I love that food can do that. She made everything look perfect and easy all at the same time, i strive to be able to cook like her and to pass down my love of cooking to my son.

I will admit that i watch quite a few cooking shows on The Food Network, and i have learned SO much from them! I love being able to watch a show and learn a cooking "method" and being able to use it that night when i make dinner for my family. Once you learn a cooking method you can use different ingredients and turn it into so many different meals, tweaking it to make it your own. I love to cook, what i consider to be, American comfort food, Mexican and Italian food the most. My goal this year is to learn more Mexican dishes, like Tamales, which shouldn't be too hard with  Mexican Mother-in law:)

I have loved being a part of this blog. I hope post more of what i cook this year than i did last year, to be honest, remembering to take a picture of my meal before i eat it is what usually keeps me from posting my recipes:) I wish everyone an exciting year in cooking and blogging!