Posted on April 17, 2009
Will the Real Chik Please Stand Up?
Hi! I’m Heather, and I like to cook. Surprise! I also like a few other things too…
I’m truly a Southern girl at heart, and by accent although it has faded somewhat – much to my chagrin. I grew up in a small town in North Carolina, about an hour from the coast. So yes, The Beach is an official location and spot I frequented in my childhood.
I ate a lot of fried shrimp and cornbread, also pulled pork and hushpuppies.
After high school, I got my learn on down I-40, in the “big city”. I followed my destiny, as put forth by my dad, and
became a Wolfpack. I got a cat, and various roommates. It was touch and go, trying to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up, selling soap, trying to wait tables but quickly realizing that that was not for me, (unfortunately after spilling hot sauteed onions on a nice blouse of a stranger) and tailgating. Yeah, tough life. But truly, life
was sometimes tough and I in turn had to learn to be tough too. Eating was not a high point in college:
I ate a lot of Gumby’s pizza and ramen noodles.
As an escape from the tough times, I found myself studying abroad in Italy – Florence to be exact. I found my true Italian Stallion, the shrimp to my grits, the butter to my bread. Yeah – that’s where Chris and I officially met and where he realized love at first sight was fo’ real. It took me a few months to fall victim to his love spell, but I did. Best decision of my life – fo’ sho. I ate pasta and gelato, drank wine, and drank wine.
After puttering around a couple of years after undergrad, I did eventually find a way to earn my keep, but it involved gettin’ my learn on a little longer. Hence the move to the Second City, Chi-town, Chicago. Grad school or bust, and Northwestern it was. While most absolutely despise grad school, those 2 years were 2 of my favorites. I grew up a little, fell further in love, got engaged, made great friends, and lived in a stunning city. And then I graduated and had to be mature. What was I thinking?? And so, genetic counselor I became. I ate deep-dish pizza, Corner Bakery, and still drank lots of beer, thanks to Timmy O’Tooles.
Four years later, here I am. I’ve been married for almost four years, we own a condo, we live in a bustling Chicago neighborhood, I still have my cat + 1, and I love it. Yeah, I’m still a genetic counselor. I talk to people about cancer and genetic testing every day. Sometimes it’s sad, but usually I find I give hope and good news. I am appreciated for what I do, and that makes me smile. And it puts the food on the table.
About that food….
At some point, I fell absolutely head over hills in love with cooking, and practically all things food. As if grad school wasn’t enough, I found a way to both fill my time (Chris has since began grad school
again, attending at night) and learn about professional cooking. I completed a year long culinary school certificate program at
Kendall College that involved, on average, 12 hours of class a week. It was definitely time-consuming and challenging, but oh-so-fun. I loved playing in the big kitchens, but it didn’t beat being at home and cooking for and with the people I love. What will I do with it? Oh I don’t know – I’d love to be a
part-time personal chef or food writer (and dream of owning a B&B somewhere, like Napa), but who knows…
And now, now I eat almost anything and cook almost anything. And I love wine, but still occasionally drink beer.
Amidst the school, the work, and all the cooking, I love to travel. Of course, the traveling always involves good food, great wine, and lots of pictures. I love music, but not quite as much as my obsessed-with-music husband. The way it works around this house, most of the time, is I control the food; he controls the music. It works nicely. And when we aren’t traveling, we’re home (duh). We hope to receive visitors, and we hang out at the house, cooking, playing cards, playing Rock Band, lovin’ on the cats, watching DVR’d TV shows and continuing to roam the wonderful city in which we live. I have to admit – in my mind, we’ve got it made. And we take advantage of it every day.
I hope I haven’t bored you to tears. And so what about the blog then? This blog is all about me – that’s for sure. And yes, mainly food, mainly recipes, but also loaded with stories, memories, and travels. Cameras? Well nothing fancy, as my pictures show – I either use my iPhone or more commonly, my Sony Cybershot that’s 2 years old. I hope to upgrade one day 
. Recipes? They aren’t all original, that’s for sure. I cook from recipes as ideas and adjust as I go – and I give credit where credit’s due. And whenever possible, I cook what’s in season, and try to shop local and organic.
Now that’s it! I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I do.
Questions? Comments? Leave it below or email me at hhwetzel [at] gmail [dot] com.
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Happy Cookin’ Folks!
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March 1st, 2010 @ 1:56 pm
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