Boys Don't Cook

  Carbonara! I have it on good authority, from literally every Italian I have ever asked the question of (or taken to a UK based pasta restaurant for that matter!) Italian Carbonara sauce should NOT contain cream, milk, or any of the stuff that supermarkets put in the suspiciously chalk-white ‘carbonara’ sauce.  In fact it should have four ingredients: pasta, eggs, parmigiano cheese, bacon I had absolutely no idea about this, I turned my nose up at carbonara as a child because I didn’t like creamy sauces (I was a real problem eater, maybe because I didn’t know what went into food?) I didn’t like eggs, I didn’t like… well you get the idea.) It was actually the wonderful folks over at Two Chubby Cubs that opened my eyes to a real Carbonara. When I was trying to lose weight by sticking to the Slimming World diet. I swear I wouldn’t have even been able to even start that program without their brilliant blog, and I did lose a little weight as a result, but you can’t diet forever! ...

“Boy’s don’t cook” You probably guessed with a title like that, that that would be the opening line of something like this... (—blimey— there were a lot of ‘that's’ in that sentence!) This was the message I heard as a kid, anytime I asked... we’ll come back round to that in a second - I've come round to it thirty five years later.  First I want to make it clear that it’s not ‘boys can’t cook’ as in they are not able to. Nor that identifying male, or female, or wherever else you fit into; affects your ability too —or enjoyment of— cooking wonderful things. It’s actually embracing and dispelling, exactly that! As a young boy I was barely taught anything about cooking. Despite growing up in a family that championed learning, when it came to meal times, I was better served ‘learning to cut the grass’ or ‘help dad with the car’ or ‘don’t let your uncle run with that, you know how he gets!” (that last one is me being silly, my uncles are wonderful) I don't think that's a ...