About the Blog:
Founded in 2009, Cookaholic Wife is a blog dedicated to fulfilling my desire to "cook, bake, enjoy." It features a variety of recipes, from decadent to health-conscious and covers all skill levels. In addition to recipes, you'll find cat photos, random thoughts, and life stories such as how my mother manages to burn water.
About the Author:
My name is Nichole and I'm the author of Cookaholic Wife. I'm in my thirties, married and owned by three cats, Gidget, Itty von Kat and Hunter. Gidget is an elderly domestic short-hair with a fondness for plush blankets and fresh mint. Itty is a rambunctious teen-aged Himalayan that squeaks for attention and is terrified of anyone we invite over. Hunter is the latest addition, a new kitten we adopted in hopes he would help Itty become more social. (Spoiler alert: that didn't work) Instead he spends his time terrorizing the other cats, begging for food and destroying just about everything in my house.
My husband Tom and I reside in Maryland. We are known for our steamed crabs and crab cakes and I can't help it, I'm a bit of a crab cake snob. I love the food-related history of Maryland and have quite a few local recipes that I've blogged to share with you.
I am a creature of habit, a compulsive list-maker, a Bullet Journaler, a Sharpie pen addict, an early riser, and I consume more popcorn than any one being should. My first successful recipe I named Nichole's Famous Crab Dip as I was constantly asked to bring it to parties and events. When I'm not in the kitchen or blogging, I'm removing Hunter from the curtains, attempting to learn how to garden, watching television or writing my novel. If it's during the summer, you can find me parked in a lounge chair in my back yard, at my mom's pool, or best of all, at the beach. I love the beach and Tom and I are both lucky enough to have family there that allows us plenty of visits. There's not much more beautiful than standing on a deserted beach watching the sun come up.
I get a great sense of satisfaction when in the kitchen, whether it be cooking or baking, although baking is what I do to relax. Nothing makes me happier than feeding people. It's not enough to cook dinner for Tom and I throughout the week. I bring baked goods into work nearly every Monday morning. I host Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter for my family. And if those weren't enough, we frequently have friends over so I can try out new recipes for them as well. Hardly anyone believes me, but I rarely enjoy the baked goods that I make. I typically just take a bite of something so I can determine whether or not it's worthy of being blogged. The act of preparing the recipe and the look on someones face when I offer it to them is better to me than a bite of any dessert.
You'd never know it from looking at my Recipe Index, but I was an extremely picky child. Coupling that with my mother's dislike of cooking and mealtimes were often a real challenge. There was probably a rotation of twenty meals that I was willing to eat. While most kids would have cereal if they didn't like what was being served for dinner, I had pretzels or a sandwich. I talk about it a lot in my posts, so if you read back through my blogging history, you'll see just how picky of an eater I really was.
It wasn't until my early twenties that my palette began to expand and then went haywire trying to make up for lost time. With every trip to the grocery store, I linger in the international aisle, checking out ingredients I am not familiar with. I would love to borrow a grandmother from each ethnicity and spend the afternoon learning to make the recipes they enjoyed as a child or that they shared with their families. Recipes are insights into history and culture and I am fascinated by the stories that food can share.
I'd love to hear from you, so please feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email. Thanks for stopping by!
~Nichole