blog post

Story Time: How I Fell in Love with Food

tlkitchen

I have said it before and I will say it a million times more: I love food! Food to me is more than just something to eat, it’s something to create and to experience. Like most foodies, my love for food started at a really young age. Growing up there were a lot of times we did not have much. My mother was a single parent with three kids and she did her best to take care of us. I appreciate those times because they made me into the well rounded adult that I am today. Some nights, we did not have much of anything to eat and my mother wouldn’t really know what to do. I was not to oldest of my siblings but I always felt like I had to protect everyone and I took it upon myself to see what was going on in the fridge.

This is where is all began, at the age of 9 I was living the life of a real episode of Chopped and creating dinners out of a basket of random things I found around the kitchen. My mother was always so surprised when I would call everyone down the stairs and she would say things like “where did this come from?” or that wasn’t even in the fridge!?” I was always so proud of myself and very happy that I was able to help my family any way that I could.

I learned the basics of cooking from my grandmother. She taught me how do to things like make eggs, Fry foods and bake box cakes. Most of the things I learned in the kitchen were from watching Food Network. When I got older, I started to do a lot more research about different kinds of food and spices. I started experimenting more with flavors and developing my own style of cooking. Of course, I am no pro, there is so much more I want to know and learn about food and cooking and I am excited to do so. I am actually considering going to culinary school, so that I can become on actual professional and have the chef title. Chef Cannon…..that has a nice ring to it!

What started off as a way for me to help my family through the struggle, ended up turning into my passion. I hope one day I will look back at this post and see how far I have come and I hope to really make a name for myself in the culinary world.

TLCannon

recipes

Some Kind of Potato Stew

tlkitchen

I don’t know about you guys but I have been having some serious Fall feels lately and all I want to do is dive head first in pumpkin flavored everything, while wrapped in a comfy sweater and holding a Starbucks latte. I don’t have much longer until my favorite season comes around but with yesterday being Friday the 13th and the weather being gloomy, windy and below 80, I needed SOMETHING to help me curve my Fall cravings until that day comes. I called this recipe Some Kind of Potato Stew because it was a very random “let my grab whatever I have in the fridge” kind of crock pot meal. It actually came out amazing! It was warm, comforting and gave me just what I needed to hold me over until Fall time arrives.

What you need:

  • 1 Small butternut squash, peeled and chopped
  • 5 Potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 1 Yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 Medium carrots, chopped
  • 1 Large Zucchini, chopped
  • 1 TSP of salt (you can add more to taste)
  • 1 TBS Garlic powder
  • 1 TSP Cumin
  • 1 TSP Ground clove
  • 1 TSP Crushed red pepper
  • 1 TSP Paprika
  • 1 TSP oregano
  • Fresh Rosemary stalks
  • 6 Cups of water
  • 2 TBS of flour

Method:

  • Peel and chop; butternut squash, potatoes, onion, carrots and zucchini and put into the crock pot
  • Add seasonings and water and give it a good mix
  • Add rosemary on top
  • Cook on low for 8 hour or on high for 4 hours (Give or take depending on your crock pot.) You know it is done when your potatoes are tender!
  • Before serving, take a few large spoon fulls of the broth and a few of the cooked veggies and place into a blender. Add flour and blend until smooth.
  • Add mixture back into crock pot and mix well…this will help thicken your stew and give it a nice creamy texture.
  • Enjoy!
food blogger, recipes

General Tso Tofu

tlkitchen

Tofu is definitely one of my favorite things to cook with. For the most part it is tasteless, which makes it a blank canvass and gives you the opportunity to create whatever flavor profile you want. A lot of people hate tofu because of the texture but over the years, I have learned that it doesn’t take much to get a good (enough) texture on tofu to make it more enjoyable. This recipe is one of my favorite ways to enjoy tofu and hopefully you all will love it too. Try it out and let me know what you think!

What you need:

  • 1 Pack of your favorite brand of extra firm tofu (recommended brands: Nayosa, House Foods or Trader Joe’s organic sprouted tofu).
  • 1 Jar of General Tso Sauce
  • 1 Cup all purpose flour
  • 1 TBS garlic powder
  • 1 TBS black powder
  • 1 TBS Paprika
  • 1 TPS Ground Ginger
  • 1 TPS Crushed red pepper
  • 1 Green onion stalk, chopped
  • Olive oil

Method:

  • Pour water off of tofu and wrap in a few paper towels. Gently squeeze water out of the tofu and let sit in the the paper towels for a few minutes to drain.
  • Once drained, cut tofu in 1 inch thick cubes.
  • In a small bowl, mix together flour and all the seasonings minus the crushed red peppers
  • A few pieces at a time, cover each cube of tofu with flour and place on a baking sheet. Make sure to have your oven per heating at 375 degrees by this time as well.
  • Now that all the cubes of tofu are floured. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the top and place in the oven.
  • After 10 minutes, flip the tofu and allow to back for another 10-15 minutes or until the tofu is golden brown and has a crispy texture.
  • In a pan on medium heat add general tso sauce and crushed red pepper flakes. After the sauce starts to warm up add in the tofu and mix until all the tofu is covered in sauce.
  • Chopped 1 green onion stalk and add to the top of tofu
  • Enjoy!
Optional to add broccoli!