Welcome and Be Prepared

May I first say thank you so very much for choosing to come and read my site. Perhaps a web search brought you to my digital door, or maybe your just stumbling about looking for a quick read. Regardless, I'm happy to have you here with me today. Welcome and be prepared.

Why such a disparity between warm tidings and a vague yet classic warming? 

What an excellent question, reader. Because you seem like a good person, and I would hate to have been untruthful to you this early in our online acquaintance. In terms of blogging, I have a slight inkling on how this all goes down, but in terms of cooking, I am a complete and total newbie. No, like really. I am. My cooking specialty at the time of this post is grilled cheese sandwiches. Boiling water is considered to be a skill in my book. And what is more, I only recently learned how to make a proper omelet. This all leads back to the title of this blog, "Alex Can't Cook."

So why would such a self-proclaimed kitchen failure start a cooking blog?

How astute you are. It is true that I pale in comparison to the greats in cooking blogs, TV, vlogging, and books, but that is just why I am creating this. I am not a world-class chef in a kitchen that houses all of the fancy machines and ingredients you would see on those renowned cooking programs. I'm a twenty-something living in an apartment with basic appliances. Don't believe me? Here are my current tools.

I have only one burner. It is electric (oooooohhhhh), but it is
singular, as the photo suggests. This means that I must control
what is cooking and the order I prepare my food or dinner will
never be served.

On top of a fridge that only reaches my waist sits a
microwave and toaster oven. 

The settings of my toaster oven leave much to be desired.
It gets hot, but I don't know how much. All I can control
are how many minutes something sits inside of it.

Likewise, the settings of the microwave are standard.
No specialty settings or extra features here, folks.

My other great handicap is that I have lived with great cooks. No, you may not know them, and they have never hosted a special on the Food Network, but their skill has (surprisingly) been a hinderance to my growth. My father, my mother, my grandmother, aunts, uncles, my boyfriend, my roommate, etc. have always been around to make delicious food and treats, so why should I bother? And should I even try to attempt to cook with them, I usually was pushed back to "assistant" rather than "chef-in-training". I would wash food, clean an area, stir something, or even cut the food, but to save time or show me how to do it properly, they would take care of the majority of the food preparation and more difficult tasks. 

My father in particular refused to write anything he did down so that I could try and duplicate it later. "Why should I do that? And you'll just remember it eventually. We can just try to make it together." But when we did, he would handle multiple dishes at one time, making it difficult for a beginner to keep straight what was being prepared to go with what. I would stare after his swift moving hands and ask "How long does that go in? What is the heat on the oven? Maybe I could try to do that too? No? Oh, okay. I'll just clean up over here while you do that." Stuck playing second fiddle, I tried to take in all the information without getting in the way or ruining the food. Too many cooks in the kitchen and all that. My father and other cooking influences made wonderful dishes that I enjoy immensely, but I couldn't seem to take in what they were trying to teach me at the time.

But now, I am the one in charge of the kitchen. Sure, I have a roommate (again), but she cooks her food and I cook mine. We buy separate groceries and have all our meals separately. My family and boyfriend are (sadly) all living in America while I am here in Japan. This makes things lonely, but it is also an opportunity to try all the kitchen-related skills that I could never hone before. Sure I may take an hour longer than most people to make dinner, but I'm the only one waiting on me to finish. If I make a mistake, it is only in a serving for one person, not the family's food. 

To that end, as I mentioned, I'm in Japan. This means that I will be doing things the long way as I may not have access to pre-made American goodies that would make the recipes go by faster. I may also use some bizarre ingredients because it is all I've got over her. Still, I'll try to stay as simple as possible since my main go is to use the things I learn by experimenting with cooking to help others like me who are just starting out or who are using a basic, basic kitchen. 

But, as the saying goes, in order to make good food, you must taste good food. Having wonderful cooks around me did help me develop an idea about what food should eventually look and taste like, so most things I attempt will be what I saw my parents or relatives make once upon a time. With no small amount of effort, my food may even turn out like theirs, but I'm not holding my breath on everything.

So welcome to my small workspace and be prepared to see me make a bunch of mistakes and even turn out a few surprises. Luckily, you are protected on your side of the computer in case I catch something on fire. I hope that I can give some help to the cooking newbies out there and grow as a cook myself. And I hope that you will all help me! Leave comments to help others who stop by the site. See something I did that you do differently? Have links to other versions of my meals? Write about it and let us all know! I'll try to mention variations of the food I cook, but I would love to hear from you, the internets, as well.

I happen to be very hungry now, so I'll go try and whip something up. Happy New Year! Happy Start to This Blog! And as the Japanese say, "yoroshiku onegaishmasu - thank you in advance and please look over/take care of me from now on."