Okay, maybe a few forks.

 

I'm a simple person. I love to laugh and I love to eat. However, my body is less simple. That gave me the brilliant idea to join the billions of bloggers and creators on the internet in order to share with you my recipes filled with only the most exquisite elite-level humor (at least I like to think it is).

 

Cooking has been a part of my life since the time I came out of the womb. True story. Right after the doctor slapped my butt, my mom handed me a stuffed teddy bear but I rejected it for a chef knife and I've been creating ever since. 

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Okay, so maybe it's not a true story... and it is questionable how a newborn would get access to a chef knife. It sounded like something a blogger would say though, right? 

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What is true is that when I was seven years old, I was watching the Food Network while my friends were watching Cartoon Network. The second I would drop my bookbag on the floor after school, I'd run to the living room to turn on the TV and pray it was a commercial. That gave me the 2 minutes I needed to use the bathroom, grab my pen, notebook, and snack, and plop my beautiful butt back on that couch. Then, I'd just sit and write every recipe, tip, and trick my little brain could grasp. It honestly took many years of training (and eating) to be able to finally look at a Tasty video without wanting to gorge on every leftover in my fridge. 

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Cooking is my love language. It's the ability to say "I love you", "I'm here for you", and "I value you" all in one dish that makes it so beautiful and special to me. I grew up around my mother and grandmothers gossiping in the kitchen while we made Kurze, our traditional dumplings. 

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The first meal I made one of my best friends, who came from a completely different culture, was that same Kurze in a simple chicken broth with garlic. Sharing that comfort from your own home to another person's world is so humbling. It was like the past generations of my family all joined together to present this one person a glimpse into who we are as people--a comforting, filling, loving, trash-talking bowl of soup.

 

Living in such a food-centered culture, I had to frequently battle between my love of food, my own cultural identity, and my health. Having three chronic illnesses where dietary restrictions are mandated, food became less of a passion and more of a source of panic. I had moments where I gave up my desire to create for the sake of limiting my food intake, and then I would get so frustrated I would drop the restrictions and create again. I had my excitement back but I paid for it with constant pains, aches, and anxieties. 

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So that's why I started this today, on March 3rd 2022 at 2:49 PM.

 

This is for all the people who are Kosher, Halal, Gluten-Free, Dairy-free, Vegan etc, and for all the lazy grocery shoppers who want to know what to do when they don't have an ingredient a recipe calls for. This is for all the restricted eaters to feel unrestricted again. 

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But more importantly, this is my opportunity to offer all of you a glimpse into my culture and my world while you all introduce me to yours.

 

And together, we'll create the tastiest United Nations the world has ever seen.

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- Erica Ashurova

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