A food blog?

Who, me? I'm so not a foodie-type. I've never been that interested in good food or cooking, until recently.

Several events converged to inspire this.

In 2006, I suffered through a painful pregnancy that involved intense stomach pain. I learned that cutting back tremendously on how much I ate made a big difference in managing that pain. Less quantity sowed the seeds for more quality.

Not long after the baby was born, my sister was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, and a pretty bad case of it. Immediately, her outlook on food changed, and in sympathy, so did mine. We are food kindred spirits. We used to bake a batch of brownies every day together in high school, and eat the whole thing that day! We'd also conferred a lot about food when we had babies; together we learned to make baby food, feed toddlers and get dinner on the table for the rest of the family. So this huge change in her relationship with food affected me tremendously, and made me think about everything I ate.

After my miserable pregnancy, I discovered that watching the TVs attached to treadmills at the YMCA was a great distraction. One day, I caught a bit of the show "30-minute meals" with Rachael Ray, and was really intrigued. Simple, accessible, pretty fast, all ingredients I recognized....wow, can I do that?

I started watching Food Network, then got hooked on "The Next Food Network Star" reality show. I didn't like the usual reality-show formula, but I really did like how resourceful and creative the contestants were. I realized that with the right skill and knowledge, even the dull things in my own pantry could be combined into a nifty meal. This could be fun!

Food Network became my favorite thing to flip on while nursing. Though nursing a baby is supposed to be a warm bonding nurturing experience, my baby turns it into a session of "how many new ways can I abuse mom." When she's not scratching my teeth, pulling the skin on my neck or picking my nose, at best it's just boring, hence the TV-watching. Cooking shows are easy to jump in and out of. Though 30-minute Meals is still right up my alley, I also like watching Everyday Italian, Quick-Fix Meals (notice a theme going there?) and Barefoot Contessa, a little ritzier but very informative. If Ina Garten can use a strainer for a sifter, then by golly, so can I! One day I caught a few minutes of Jacques Pepin on PBS, demonstrating numerous ways of cooking eggs. I was an instant fan (note to self: get his DVD on omelettes).

A few other things contributed to set the stage. Some of my mom-friends are really good and knowledgeable cooks. My husband is a famously fussy eater, but he does like really good restaurants, and that helped elevate my interest. My mother is an excellent cook, and every time we visit each other, I'm always inspired.

I have a tough audience at home, however. My husband doesn't like fruit, cheese, olives, tomatos, salads, soups or combination-type dishes ("casserole" is a real bugaboo with him). My sons are decent eaters, for kids, but they're still just kids. My daughter is almost a toddler, with the usual lack of rhyme or reason when it comes to food. I'm grateful that everyone likes steamed broccoli, cauliflower, green beans and spinach, but if I try to do anything different, forget it.

So why a food blog?

Well, because while my interest in cooking and scratch-baking is new, my compulsion to write has always existed. I just can't get things out of my head sometimes if I don't write them down. I need the purge. And a blog is a nice harmless way to do that. Friends and family can subject themselves to my ramblings -- and retreat -- at will.

So, here we go with my experiments, learning moments, failures and small fires, all in the search of the occasional "ah-HAH!" And just in case, I keep the Domino's 800 number posted on the fridge.