#ExclusivePartyOfOne

 

 

For as long as I can remember I have been cooking for a large amount of people. My immediate family consisted of 5 people. Add in the family and friends my mother often took in to help them out in their times of need. I can still recall the first time I ever cooked anything on my own. We had family visiting from England. My Dad had decided to make pancakes for breakfast (Aunt Jemima, just add water mix) and he completely destroyed them, even though I kept telling him he was doing it wrong. Thinking he was being funny he told me, then 5, that if I thought I could do better I should. I still remember that kitchen table and how I had to pull a chair up in order to be able to mix the batter. Once the batter was done I moved my chair to the stove and proceeded to make pancakes that everyone happily ate. Everyone except my Dad who, out of pride, ate the ones he made which were burnt on the outside and doughy in the middle.

Fast forward 38 years later, I have learned how to feed larger masses. I went from cooking for hundreds to a family of three that expanded to a family of five so my cooking was always evolving. Now I am in a new place in my life. My oldest is married and moved away from home. The middle child is away at college enjoying his freshman year. The baby girl lives at home on the weekends as she uses Grandma’s as a home base for school. And I am in the middle of ending a 20 year marriage. I am appreciating how to cook for one. It is not an easy task even just trying to figure out proportions but also accepting it on an emotional level. I am not the first woman to go through this nor will I be the last.

None of these things happening around me and to my life will define me in a negative light. As with most things in my life, I am choosing to learn from it. I am using these experiences to make me a better person. I can still eat well, live life to the fullest, and enjoy this time in my life being single. It’s not a bad thing but a chance for me to re-connect with myself on so many levels. My cooking is improving and I am becoming more creative because of these changes. Cooking is actually easier for me because I don’t have to take into consideration who doesn’t like what. I just cook how and what I feel, when I feel. I get to be selfish in the kitchen and I am enjoying it.

There are so many others that are finding themselves cooking for one. It may be a recent divorcee or an empty nester, a widow or someone who chooses this life style. I want to be able to make that transition a little easier for them. The Chef In Pearls will be doing a special series just for them or rather for us. ExclusivePartyofOne, a celebration of cooking for one with me, The Chef In Pearls. I’ll showcase recipes, classes and so much more on all my social media including Periscope. So make sure to follow me on all platforms as @TheChefInPearls. Please keep an eye out for the hashtag #ExclusivePartyOfOne.  You will be able to follow all of the goings by search for that hashtag. I am excited about all the things I want to share. So shake off all the negative vibes out there about cooking for yourself and where you may be in life because you’re not alone. We can and will make it through this stage of our lives better than ever.