I've loved to cook for as long as I can remember. As a little girl, I used to use our ceramic cat bowls to create horrible concoctions for my parents, in high school, I would make dinner for my family every Thursday while my mom taught an evening class, and now in college with my own apartment, I cook for myself every night. Unsurprisingly, I often get bored of the recipes that I have memorized, and though I have a limited budget, with the help of the groundswell it seems as though almost any dish is possible. When I was younger, I loved cook books like Nigella Lawson's, but as beautiful as her creations appeared in the book, I rarely have the time to create a gorgeous cupcake with twenty steps to completion. I do, however, have enough time to create these:
Oreo cheesecake cupcakes! My friends now request them at least every other week, and thanks to my StumbleUpon, I can find new recipes like this all the time. These were originally posted on Handle the Heat, a blog started by a college student. Thanks to her blog, she has now had original recipes published in several magazines. Not only is the recipe great, but from reading the comments I also decided to try using whipped cream cheese instead of regular, and it was easier and cheaper! Reading the comments is something that I always do when making a recipe I've found online. Sometimes people just say things like "this was great," but more often than not, people share tips on improving the recipe. Even something like "turned out a bit bland" can be helpful, because then I will know to add more seasoning. Anyone can post a recipe online, but by reading the reviews and comments I know which ones area actually worth trying out. If I'm looking for a recipe containing a specific ingredient, I can just look that ingredient up on allrecipes. All of the recipes are rated out of five stars, and there are usually more user comments on this site than on blogs. Before I even go shopping, I can turn to blogs like Poor Girl Eats Well, and plan my meals for the next few days with all of the recipes right there fore me. With the help of the groundswell, my cooking never gets boring.
