Susan Senninger, Celestine, Ind.
I was immediately drawn to this project upon the sight of the word "food." I love food. I grew up on a farm with a huge garden. From the time my brothers, sister and I were young, we always had fresh greens, tomatoes, corn and peas to choose from. My mom even canned tomatoes and peas so we could have them year-round.
Over the years, I have met people who have expanded my boundaries of food. I have eaten sushi, humus and calamari. These are all foods a small town girl never would have dreamed of eating. I now am always up for trying new and exotic things. I even love making them. I considered for a time to forgo college for the tough and competitive culinary world. Even though I ended up not making that decision, cooking still remains a huge part of my life.
Homemade spaghetti sauce is my specialty. I also love having fresh salsa always on hand in my fridge. I love making pesto, and you will hardly ever walk into my house without seeing good French bread and olive oil. I also have begun to introduce to my roommates all the home cooked recipes my mom taught me.
I am a complete foodie. I inhale cooking shows. My favorite is Ina Garten. She is the warm-hearted woman next door who gives intimidating French dishes a home-cooked feel. I also love Racheal Ray. She is not considered a chef, but I think that is what draws me to her. I see so many people who would not even give cooking a chance because they think it is hard. She does not mask the fact that her cooking methods are simple, and she would not even be tempted to try something difficult. I also love “Iron Chef America” and “Everyday Italian.”
In addition, I have two favorites not on the Food Channel. I really enjoy Anthony Bourdain, chef and author, who has a travel show on the Travel Channel. It is foremost a travel show, but his culinary instincts always kick in at every location to try the local cuisines. And he is never afraid to tell the truth about what he thinks. I also love “Weird Foods” because I love to learn about the different things people eat around the world.
