About Kitchen Kung Fu

For a long time I’ve been dissatisfied with the frantic pace of American life. We have more technology than ever and less time than ever. The more gadgets we have to save time the less time we have. We make ourselves as busy as possible, then wonder why we never have time for the things that make us truly happy. I was right there with everyone else, working and schooling and doing everything I could squeeze out five minutes for.

I was raised on a farm and my mom did a lot of things the old-fashioned way. She also did it while raising nine kids. While much of it was out of necessity (saving money) there’s also a sense of satisfaction that my parents seemed to have by doing things themselves. Of course, I grew up and forgot about all that stuff, launched myself into the world and got caught up in everything that was there.

And that’s ok. Many people thrive on the ever-working life on the anthill. And I say do what makes you happy.

But I was dissatisfied. I had most everything I really wanted, but I was tired all the time. I needed to step back and take a breather from the pace of life. So I decided to go back to my roots – the old ways – and see if I could get a piece of that satisfaction that was felt on the farm. For me, these roots are in the kitchen. Making real food, good food, and doing it from scratch. This blog will be my personal record of this journey. If people read it and like it and it helps them, then that makes me happy. If no one reads it or gives a hoot, I don’t care!

So why kung fu? Well, part of it is the whole “old ways” thing, and kung fu is about the most ancient practice I can think of. Plus I do kung fu and tai chi and love it so whenever I tackle something it’s all about having kung fu in whatever that is – hard work and dedication, discipline, making yourself a better person - so therefore, this blog is about my kitchen kung fu.

I work full time and go to school two nights a week. I have a wonderful husband and three puffy cats and a great house, all of which makes me very happy and extremely grateful. But happiness is a lot like love – some is good, more is better! So come with me into the kitchen and let’s see if we can stir up some happiness, peace and satisfaction the old fashioned way.