Cooking

I can vaguely remember the first time I cooked.  It was more than following a recipe, you see I made it my own... I added hot dogs.

I really learned to cook when I was a firefighter.  The newbie, given the low-end jobs like cleaning bathrooms, rolling hoses, occasionally tested every now and then.  On a crawler, greasing axles more than once, running a few calls by myself, eventually the responsibility of both a truck and another person...

That's when I grew-up.

My epiphany came when I was almost cooked myself.  A brush-fire.  I knew the strategy and tactics needed.  When I was ordered to do something outside of it, I originally thought, OK.  Maybe there is more that I need to learn.  That day was the first day I ever truly saved a life, as I yelled at the reserve firefighter with me, to run.  We both hurdled that three foot high barbed-wire fence...

Chili, chicken cacciatore, ribs, casseroles, posole...  The difference between low and slow vs. hot and fast...  cooking, not preparing.

It has been an interesting journey to say the least!

I saw it again a week ago at a family picnic.

The one person, who seemed adamant that they would not cook... ended up cooking.  I sat there and smiled.  I did give a jab... and that caused a few more people to smile.

The one thing I miss, is that lately... I boil water, at most open a can.  The last time I cooked, it seemed like it was a never ending event,  A simple get-together with a few friends, ended up turning into a neighborhood event.  We started early, and were serving food by 4pm.  People kept coming, food kept arriving, soon we were inviting and asking people just walking by to join us. 

The secret?  Well, if you know, a 'wink' to you.  If you don't, a simple handshake will do...