Believe it or not, I wasn't always this much of a foodie.
I would actually have considered myself to be quite a picky eater.
I think it comes from the years I spent making my own dinners as a kid.
My mom is a single parent, and she ended up working a second shift job.
Once I was old enough to stay home alone, well, that's what I did.
I wasn't allowed to use our gas stove unsupervised, so I improvised.
Campbell's Condensed Chicken Noodle is just as good out of the microwave, and my older and wiser cousin taught me how to make a passable grilled cheese using the toaster and microwave.
I was never very adventurous. I knew what I liked, and come hell or high water, that's what I wanted.
I'm also an only child.
Years later, I would work at one of the fine dining-est restaurants that has yet come to this little town. Suddenly, a whole culinary world was opened up to me. The better I knew the menu, and the ingredients, the better tips I would make, and I got an employee discount.
Eating there was a win/win/win.
One of my favorite dishes was barbecue salmon and, because the place has since closed,
here is my attempt to recreate it.
