I Have Cooked This Far by Faith: The Ultimate Cook Book

By R J

My Faith allowed me to share enjoyable cooking experiences, recipe's along with life's experiences discussion point

In this book, I hope you feel my struggle to succeed as much as my passion to be the best and to create the best food you have ever tasted. the quest is still on so I will keep cooking and writing so you can continue to share in my experiences and the journey to be among the “great ones” who offer to the world a harmonious blend of love, passion and culinary delight

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 27, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669816591

Book preview

Copyright © 2022 by R J.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 03/24/2022

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

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Contents

Preface

Chapter 1: Life’s Appetizer

Grandma’s Table

Recipe

Chapter 2: Life’s First Course: Elementary School

The Road Never Traveled

Recipes

Chapter 3: The Stew That Is Me

You Are What You Cook

Recipe

Chapter 4: Can You Smell What I’m Cooking’?

When the Heart Says Yes

Recipe

Chapter 5: My Not-So Secret Ingredient

The Love that Changes Everything

Recipe

Chapter 6: Stir, Taste And Fix

Reflections of Truth

Recipe

Chapter 7: Dinner Is Served

Better Days

Recipe

Chapter 8: Helpful Hints

About the Author

Preface

My first book, Thou Preparest a Table, was a simple cookbook tailored to the new cook or those that just wanted to hone up on the basics. In this book, I wanted to appeal to the heart as well as the stomach.

As I started to formulate how this writing would come together, I began to think about what and who truly inspired me to be a chef; to realize a passion that I’m not sure will ever die. I began to reflect on simpler days, when food was fresh with a lot less preservatives. People actually cooked at home, from scratch. Families took time to eat dinner together and watched family programming and played board games. Nowadays thing are so advanced until we advanced ourselves into isolated fortresses right in our own homes. Identities have gotten clouded with young people doing themselves more damage than good with teen pregnancy and unwed mothers and drug abuse on the rise. There was a time when people truly cared about each other and the word, neighbor, meant something, with no need to lock your front door.

Commercialism has taken over in so many areas where the art and beauty of many crafts is a thing of the past. Money has replaced the style and finesse of epicurean creations. I am glad for the network shows that are bringing back the art of cooking. This is the way I came up and how I learned. It’s how my dad came up in the business and I appreciate him for that greatly. Money is great but the art of cooking is priceless.

The recipes, poems and stories reflect my passion and heart for the life I have found in a world that you either love or hate what you do. I believe the true top chefs, in their own right, are not the educated or the talented but the gifted. Those of us that are gifted can do many things but cooking will never be just a hobby. It’s not in the books, it’s in the blood.

*As you read through the recipes, please feel

free to increase, lessen or omit any of the herbs,

spices or seasonings according to your taste.

Chapter One

LIFE’S APPETIZER

I want to start this menu of life’s twist and turns and the passions that help me find my way by sharing some thoughts of a simpler life; when life was less complicated and television only had three channels and no remote control so someone had to get up and change the channel and stand there adjusting the antennae. You see, I was born in Germany, in 1961. I lived in Spangdahlem with my parents (yes, my father was in the Air Force.We arrived in the states when I was 3. I couldn’t speak any English and my mother hated having to call my father to interpret for me and everything to me was a cow; cars, buses, trains. I came here with just my Lederhosen.

By the time we got to the states my parents were going through divorce. We had a brief time in Germantown, Pa. My mother had a friend named, Dani, that she met in Germany. Those were not good times. Mom’s Corvair was stolen. She had a stalker at her job. She fell in a manhole and injured her leg and suffered burns. The only good thing I remember was that was when Batman and Green Hornet were prime time shows. Who could forget the up and coming Bruce Lee as, Kato.

We packed and moved to D. C. We came to live with my grandparents, Grandma and Doug in Washington, D. C. My mother’s father passed when she was 16 so I never got to know him but Doug was and is a great grandfather. I couldn’t have asked for better. My grand mother spoiled me to no end. Her nickname for me was man . She had a high-pitch voice, especially when she wanted me to go and get my own switch from one of the trees that draped over the huge porch she had in the front of that big house. Some folks remember a switch you had to snap it off the tree and then pull the leaves off by stripping it all the way down and then you would shake it in the wind like a leather whip so you could make sure it had whipping power. Now I ask you, how dumb is that?! I tried a couple of times getting a small twig off the tree thinking it would suffice. The only thing it did was make it worse on me, for being a smart alec. I wasn’t a bad kid but my mouth always got me in trouble. That and thinking I always knew a better way of doing things rather than just do as I was told. I’m still always looking for a better way of doing things; work smart not hard. Thank you Grandma. Like most medicine it wasn’t good to me but it was good for me.

I mentioned my grand parents house; big, scary, old house. The home had three floors with an apartment at the top. In the winter you could feel the heat from the pipes which you could see throughout the house which I use to climb because the ceilings were ten feet high; when you’re five, that’s like going rock climbing. That huge porch had a big swing that could seat four kids or three adults easy. You could go for a swing on a Sunday afternoon after dinner and watch the sun set waiting for Perry Mason to come on. All this was family time. Remember when families took time to be family, not just individuals who just happen to live in the same home.

So that’s what this book is about. Just a few moments out of your busy day to reflect on a simpler time when life wasn’t high tech and to remember what it takes to succeed through the twist and turns we encounter as we strive to find our place of peace and fulfillment in an otherwise crazy world. While we may have had our ups and downs we knew how to hold on to each other, especially around the dinner table. That foundation is what my personal mansion is built upon. The inspirations of my aspirations…this is my tribute to them and how much they mean to me and how you find life along the way. Good times, good food…..family. Maybe you’ll share a few of these recipes and stories with the next generation coming. Tell a few of your own over a homemade cake batter and watch the smiles.

Sunday; the all day buffet.

Sunday was a serene time around the house. All the hustle and bustle was over for a day. Grandma had gotten up early that morning to finish dinner she started the night before. She always had iced coffee in the morning from freeze-dried, never brewed. She would make sure Doug had his breakfast and I would eat with him. I would wait for that call, Bobby?! Come eat for it gets cold! I would come from upstairs as fast as my young legs could take me. I would run down half way and jump the rest of the way, (Boom!) I would enter that little kitchen and there would be slab bacon with the rind still on. I could smell the strong aroma of that iced coffee in Grandmas big glass. There would be toast and real butter. I remember when no one was afraid to eat that sweet, creamy, buttery condiment and the jelly way so much more fruity back then. It (butter and jelly) could make the driest toast sing. All that was good but here were two things I would always look for if nothing else was there; grits and melted eggs. I came to know them later as eggs over easy. I would mix them with my grits and then finish with silky red sauce, otherwise know as ketchup! Yes, I am a ketchup fanatic; Heinz, if I can get it, thank you! That was breakfast most days but especially on Sundays at Grandmas house. While we ate, Grandma was still finishing dinner. Sunday dinner was always a feast for the eyes and the palate to behold.

On most Sundays, there was usually a large smoked ham shank; glazed in a sweet sauce, sometimes with pineapples and cherries. She would