Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to The Punk Housewife!
First, a few words about the hows and whys of this humble little blog.
Even if I was born in a Franco-Italian family, I never seriously cooked until quite recently. Mostly because my mom used to shoo me out of the kitchen; Italian women are notoriously territorial about their pots and pans… My first kitchen was the size of an office cubicle, so unless you were a contortionist, preparing anything more complicated than boiling pasta or throwing a frozen something in the oven was challenging. I eventually moved, got a bigger kitchen and a couple of great cookbooks; that sparked my curiosity. Then I met Ze Man, and moved in with him to an apartment with an even bigger and cooler kitchen. Cooking just for yourself can be really dull, but having someone to cook for was the proverbial kick in the backside I needed for my curiosity to turn into a passion. Cookbooks and various apparatus soon piled up all over my house, and friends and coworkers started asking for my recipes… and here we are!
In this blog, you will find the recipes that I love to prepare, and those I am experimenting with, along with pictures, my comments and tips, and all the tweaking I did to try to improve them until they were the ultimate delicious treat I wanted to eat. I provide detailed background info of the recipe's source and origins, because not all of them are original creations: I get most of my cooking inspiration from Jamie Oliver and Isa Chandra Moskowitz, but I am shameless about modifying and making substitutions until I am a happy camper. I tend to think of recipes as guidelines; try it once, and then play with it until it makes your taste buds ecstatic. I will also give my two cents about some food brands and some kitchen supplies because I am just obnoxious like that...
"Punk Housewife"? Let me explain the name:
I grew up in a Montreal suburb, and went punk in my early teens. And I am allergic to the 'burbs! They creep me out. Streets that all look alike, houses that are all the same, inhabited by strange, dysfunctional families for whom appearances and money are the barometers of success and happiness… O.K., I am generalizing the stereotype. However, I vowed loud and clear to never become one of those scary, hollow housewives. But sure enough, being mad about cooking led to long shopping trips in kitchen supply stores, buying pretty dining sets, 4 different kinds of pans and countless other gizmos a street punk would never have cared about. My friends also tease me constantly because I love to cook for my boyfriend, who jokingly calls me his "little housewife", even if I work a full-time day-job and cook watching "The Big Bang Theory".
So what is a Clash fan doing baking cupcakes, you may ask? Well, as they say, you can get the girl out of Foufs, but you can't get Foufs out of the girl. Punk is an attitude and a way of thinking. Being a punk doesn't mean you only eat junk or raw vegetables, and cooking and taking care of one's house doesn't have to mean you lead a boring and empty existence. As far as I am concerned, being a "punk housewife" is being passionate, doing things your own way, caring about your food and those who eat it (yourself included)… and making that kitchen sexy! Or at least, that's how I rationalize owning a polka-dot apron…
First, a few words about the hows and whys of this humble little blog.
Even if I was born in a Franco-Italian family, I never seriously cooked until quite recently. Mostly because my mom used to shoo me out of the kitchen; Italian women are notoriously territorial about their pots and pans… My first kitchen was the size of an office cubicle, so unless you were a contortionist, preparing anything more complicated than boiling pasta or throwing a frozen something in the oven was challenging. I eventually moved, got a bigger kitchen and a couple of great cookbooks; that sparked my curiosity. Then I met Ze Man, and moved in with him to an apartment with an even bigger and cooler kitchen. Cooking just for yourself can be really dull, but having someone to cook for was the proverbial kick in the backside I needed for my curiosity to turn into a passion. Cookbooks and various apparatus soon piled up all over my house, and friends and coworkers started asking for my recipes… and here we are!
In this blog, you will find the recipes that I love to prepare, and those I am experimenting with, along with pictures, my comments and tips, and all the tweaking I did to try to improve them until they were the ultimate delicious treat I wanted to eat. I provide detailed background info of the recipe's source and origins, because not all of them are original creations: I get most of my cooking inspiration from Jamie Oliver and Isa Chandra Moskowitz, but I am shameless about modifying and making substitutions until I am a happy camper. I tend to think of recipes as guidelines; try it once, and then play with it until it makes your taste buds ecstatic. I will also give my two cents about some food brands and some kitchen supplies because I am just obnoxious like that...
"Punk Housewife"? Let me explain the name:
I grew up in a Montreal suburb, and went punk in my early teens. And I am allergic to the 'burbs! They creep me out. Streets that all look alike, houses that are all the same, inhabited by strange, dysfunctional families for whom appearances and money are the barometers of success and happiness… O.K., I am generalizing the stereotype. However, I vowed loud and clear to never become one of those scary, hollow housewives. But sure enough, being mad about cooking led to long shopping trips in kitchen supply stores, buying pretty dining sets, 4 different kinds of pans and countless other gizmos a street punk would never have cared about. My friends also tease me constantly because I love to cook for my boyfriend, who jokingly calls me his "little housewife", even if I work a full-time day-job and cook watching "The Big Bang Theory".
So what is a Clash fan doing baking cupcakes, you may ask? Well, as they say, you can get the girl out of Foufs, but you can't get Foufs out of the girl. Punk is an attitude and a way of thinking. Being a punk doesn't mean you only eat junk or raw vegetables, and cooking and taking care of one's house doesn't have to mean you lead a boring and empty existence. As far as I am concerned, being a "punk housewife" is being passionate, doing things your own way, caring about your food and those who eat it (yourself included)… and making that kitchen sexy! Or at least, that's how I rationalize owning a polka-dot apron…
