The Beginning of a Lifetime Love of Food

        I have loved food for as long as I can remember, and I've repeatedly said, "I should start a blog." Well, here it finally is.

       This blog will discuss many items under the gastronomique heading. First and foremost, this is a place for me to share with you recipes that I experiment with (of course I will include pictures). Secondly, I always look for restaurant reviews, and since Mr. Pepper and I thoroughly enjoy eating out, I thought, "Why not include restaurant reviews?" so, those will be included here as well. Finally, I will include neat culinary techniques and tools that are either interesting, unique, helpful, and downright strange.

      So you ask, "Why the interest in food since a young age?" Well to start, my parents are amazing cooks. From a young age I remember helping them both in the kitchen. Sometimes it was a task as simple as turning on the oven or beating the eggs, eventually it turned into being my job to make the gravy and all the pies for Christmas dinner. My dad, in my opinion, is a master-griller. Give him anything, and he will grill it to perfection. My mom, in everyone's opinion, is a master-baker. For years we've been trying to encourage her to open her own shop, and maybe one day she will. Finally, my brother. My brother has loved the kitchen for as long as he's been alive. I am pretty sure 90% of his baby photos are of him in the kitchen. He even took his first steps there! It all makes sense now as he is a chef at O&B's Jump in Toronto. See, good food just runs in my family.

     Finally, you ask, "Where did you get the name for this blog from?" Simple. 'Peppery' comes from my future last name. After 6.5 years, my boyfriend (fiance) proposed, and he happens to have the last name of a vegetable! I know he was it, and we vowed to enter into a lifetime love of food together. (Oh, and he and his parents are great cooks too!) 'Pig' comes from bacon. Actually, bacon comes from a pig, but I liked the alliteration (did I mention that I am a 'retired teacher'?), and who doesn't love bacon? Finally, 'Gastronomique' is the french word for Gastronomy which is the "art or science of food eating". I learned of this word when my brother asked me to order Larousse Gastronomique when he was beginning his career as a chef.

      I hope you enjoy my blog and feel free to add suggestions and ideas of your own.

                                                                                  Cheers!
                                                                                            Mel