Tasty Barter

I come from a long line of  culinary talents. My grandmother and mother were and are well-known for their prowess in the kitchen, serving up amazing gourmet fare, from traditional American, to Thai, to Japanese and French dishes that, if you close your eyes, would almost transport  you to these distant places when you sat down to a meal.

But this long line came to a crashing halt when I came along. I like to blame it on the horses. I was born with a mutant gene that propelled me to focus almost solely on equines. I lived and breathed horses, with little time left for all the other domestic chores in life, such as cooking, sewing and cleaning. My Mom likes to remind he that when it came time to get out the pots and pans, “Tricia disappeared” to the barn.

Well, fast forward a few years. Now I have a family, my horse is well cared for, and I have a bit more time for expanding my culinary repertoire. So, it wasn’t difficult to say yes when my friend Emily Tyler asked me to help set up her blog in exchange for cooking lessons. We had our first meeting tonight, and we made great progress on both fronts. Emily’s blog is up and running at Dwelling In Middleburg, and I had my first experience with a variety of kitchen utensils, including mandolins and cleavers.

We plan to continue trading skills in this endeavor, and perhaps I’ll even be able to include a recipe or two in my future blogs. Or, if not, at least I’ll provide you a link to Emily’s blog!