I’ve always loved cooking and it’s been a huge part of my life, but I’ve always just thought of it as my own little obsession. Since getting married, my cooking audience has grown and grown and so I’ve had to learn a lot more tricks to keep them impressed. After much prompting and suggestions from my family I’ve decided to start a record of my culinary pursuits. So here it is….

The Taste Matters isn’t about the latest food trends, but I’m not going to exclude them either. This blog is about stuff that tastes good – the Taste – cause isn’t that what matters?

So what will you find here that you can’t find anywhere else??? Well the most insanely and amazing mishmash of recipes, techniques and tools that you could ever imagine! Here’s the thing – I LOVE cooking. Every kind of cooking and every kind of food – well almost every kind – I hate beef liver!

I am lucky to have a wonderfully supportive and equally daring husband who will try anything I put in front of him – no matter how strange it may seem. He supports me through everything and more importantly is willing to clean the kitchen after a day of cooking! We are blessed with two little girls who love watching and helping with the process of cooking, but rarely are willing to try the end results. Hopefully their taste buds will mature during these coming years! I can’t leave out a mention to my other kitchen assistant – our Labrador Cody, he’s always there for me, ready and willing to clean up after my clumsiness.

Good cooking doesn’t have to be complicated and pretentious, but you know, sometimes complicated and pretentious cooking is pretty darn good too. I refuse to exclude anything from what I’m willing to try. Here you will find the things that I have tried and tried again and really believe in. If a recipe seems complicated, it’s because the end result is amazing and completely worth it. But there is no way that I could cook like that all the time with the energy my two girls wake up with! There has to be balance in everything – budget vs. expensive, complicated vs. simple, salty vs. sweet.

I’ve learned a lot about these tradeoffs during my married life. We have had to move too many times due to my husband’s job and they definitely haven’t always been very glamorous locations. I try to take advantage of opportunities whenever I can. If we are visiting relatives in a bigger city, then I ask if I can cook them dinner for at least one of the nights. Not only do I feel like I am repaying their hospitality, but I also get to try out an unavailable technique or ingredient. Sometimes I’ve been really surprised by the amazing local products that you can find if you just venture out past the city limits signs. All of these roadblocks and obstacles have made me a better cook and now I hope to share those lessons with you.

My full-time job is as a wife and mother. I have two wonderful daughters who fill my days with energy, love, hugs and dolls! When I’m not cooking, you can find me either running or cheering on the Green Bay Packers. I’m a cheesehead through and through.

So please explore The Taste Matters and let me know what you think. I’m looking forward to your questions or comments about anything cooking related! Please feel free to share my content through your own blogs, but please remember to credit whenever appropriate and to link back to my original post. Thanks for reading!