Meatless Monday - Corn & Mushroom Spring Rolls with Raw Corn Salad

Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes (or in the kitchen rather) or a cooking blog? Well, here's your chance to find out.

Last week our 17 year old niece Danielle joined us in the kitchen while we tested a few recipes. About 5 of them actually, all at the same time. Absolute chaos, no doubt...

Danielle is an aspiring and very talented writer, editor of her high school paper and creator of her the movie review blog Filmcr8ze . Not too shabby, uh?

So after spending most of her day in our kitchen, she decided to document her experience. Here's what she had to say:

"The other afternoon my aunt held up an apron that says, “Will cook for shoes.”  She laughed and then said to me, “Now you’ll have to get a shirt that says ‘Will write for food.’” I smirked not only because I appreciated the wit of the remark, but also because I, ironically, already have one.

As the avid writer that I am, I was obliged to describe the fantastic frenzy that erupts in my aunt’s kitchen in return for a bite of the dish of the day. Watching as a bystander, you’re not sure where exactly to focus your attention. At the kitchen table you have Raquel mixing vegan cream-cheese and peaches, inventing her own dessert (which came to fruition beautifully as a Vegan Peach Napoleon), while over by the stove, you have my Aunt Vicky frying an egg to add to a delicious egg-plant, pepper and pickle mix, soon to be placed atop a crisp toasted piece of bread with cheese. Simultaneously, my Aunt Ruthy, almost, and sometimes actually, bumping into her sister, flips a Middle Eastern grilled cheese that smells better and better with each sizzle of bread-meeting-pan. With all of the hustle and bustle engulfing me, I can’t help but be overwhelmed and in heaven as all of the disparate ingredients and spices waft into my nostrils, uniting into the most wonderful, mouth-watering amalgamation of Middle Eastern and American food that my taste buds can handle.

You would think the most frustrating drawback for them would be the tight kitchen space or their having to constantly come up with new recipes to share with their viewers. No…not even close. Do you want to know how to tell a good cook from a great cook? When you realize that the most frustrating obstacle for my aunts and cousin is actually documenting specific ingredients and measurements for recipes because they have some unearthly skill to cook impromptu, you realize what great cooks look like; cooks who have not only the talent, but the ingenuity to continuously dish out(no pun intended) new ideas. “We know how to cook; now we just need to figure out how we do it,” Vicky joked.

I began with the humor of the apron for the effect, but also to make a serious point. My aunts really love to cook, and they cook for the love of doing it. It’s a passion for them that doesn’t need to make a lot of "cents" for them to wake up every morning and break out the blender. For them, cooking is all about fun, which is reflected in the chaos of the kitchen, fueling streams of positive energy for them, and hunger, of course, for me J

Just remember to always check out May I Have That Recipe if you want to know what’s cookin’."