Please Sir, Can I Have Some More?

Delicious, airy light cupcakes with butter whipped icing, hot steamy stew with lentils and chick peas, chai tea muffins with caramel topping, slow roasted chicken with blue cheese and bacon, white bread toasted and slathered with butter ... my mouth is watering ... fruit cake with hot custard, beef and beer pie with potato wedges, pickle and cheese sandwiches with a dash of mayo ... mmm, tasty ...

I am at times perhaps not the most romantic person, I will admit. For me, a good time in bed is lying reading a recipe book and I make no secret of my passion for food, and for all things related. I aspire to be the next domestic godess, so step aside Nigella and Martha, here comes Colleen! Of course, being a "Josephine Nobody" this may take a little time, but I am prepared to be patient and take the baby steps required to accomplish the journey (and I will also welcome any advice which may be offered to me in regard to my aspirations). In the meantime I will crack on with writing my recipe book, complete with household hints and tips, in the hopes that some publishing house may view it as the "must have" book of the season. A person can dream can they not?

I cannot remember when I have not enjoyed food and eating, but I do admit that over the years my tastes and my thoughts on food have grown and changed. I was nothing other than a "little pudding" when I was young, and my mother told me that I was very particular and fussy when it came to foods I would and would not eat. I recall distinctly that raw tomatoes were the enemy, as was cabbage (cooked or raw) and many other items. As I grew older, I also recall my mother warning me that my tastes would change, and further warning me that being "particular" about my food might result in me embarrassing myself when offered something to eat, by a boyfriend's parents for instance. As is the norm, mother knew best, and I tested and tasted many more foods then I would have been comfortable with, all in the name of "good manners". This, however, allowed me to form proper opinions on what I did and did not like and I surprised myself by even enjoying some of the more unconventional foods like Maponi worms and the sardine and condensed milk sandwiches which I led to believe all pregnant women seem to crave. There's nothing like a strange food combination to wake up the taste buds. One man's "eeewwwww" may be another man's "aaaahhhhh" so I believe when it comes to food it is best to keep an open mind.

These days I will eat pretty much anything, although I do have some rules which I adhere to quite strictly in regard to what I cook for others and what I eat myself.

Because I have moral and ethical issues with cruelty to living beings, I ensure that not even the cabbage I eat may have suffered at the hands of humans. And whilst it may seem hypocritical to admit that eat meat, I am within my limits when it comes to meat (including poultry and fish) and will draw the line at foie gras, battery farmed chickens and eggs, and any other farming which promotes or sustains cruelty to animals. Free range, sustainably sourced, and if possible organic, is my style. I'm not an expert on matters and admit I neither vegetarian or a vegan, which as I said may make me seem like a hypocrite, but I do try to ensure, for example, that my bacon does not come from a pig which has been squashed into a sty with so many other pigs he cannot even lie down in his own excrement! I cannot bear to think that a living being might have suffered so that I can have my fill. In any event, studies have shown that organic and free range are better for the environment than battery farmed, genetically modified and the like. But as I said I am no expert.

I'm delighted to say that I recently took my first order for a wedding cake, albeit it from a family member, and I am nervous and excited at having a role in her wedding day, other than merely being a guest. I am hoping that this "job" may lead to others, and that I may be able to develop my passion for baking into a form of extra income.

But it is food, in all its glorious forms that I love. I own a plethora of recipe books but this does not stop me trawling the Internet on a daily basis for something which might whet my appetite. To me there is nothing better than reading a recipe and the excitement of thinking what the end result might be is more than I can bear at times. I was delighted to discover that even Hubpages have recipes and good tips and ideas! Of course, it has resulted in my losing the better part of a few hours of my life so far, as I clicked through all there is to see, in the hopes that I will find something new and interesting, or a slant on the everyday, but more for the sheer delight at the mouthwatering prospect of food!

So while I realise that bed time reading should possibly consist of something a little less lackluster, I make no apologies and instead I say "eat your food before it gets cold"!