Intro, Julia

Top culinary influences: My friends are what inspire me. I always like to see what kind kicks they are on. Amy, Nicole, Sam, Bubzee.
Favorite cook books: I dont actually use cookbooks all that much. I have a really short attention span, and they're prone to get left dusty on my shelves. I tend to look things that I am interested in up online, and scribble something messily on scrap paper, then if I use the recipe a few times, I'll stick it in my own recipe notebook (pile). Sounds like the road to success right?
Favorite 5 ingredients: Coconut (everything: milk, oil, shavings, water (with the pulp!), I really love coconut); avacado, quinoa, olive oil, raisins, maple syrup, nutritional yeast, salmon, oh more than 5. 
Favorite 5 dishes: Chili, salsa and guacamole, Any coconut based stir-fry, roasted veggies, oatmeal (no joke, I eat oatmeal every morning)
How did you learn to cook?: I didn't. 

Uuuuuuh more seriously, I had kids. I think that kind of pushed me in the direction of "oh shit, I gotta know how to feed us!" I did not know how to cook at all until I was at least 20. I never used a spice or herb until like 22. My parents don't cook. My mother could easily survive with a toaster oven, microwave, and electric kettle. And by could I mean that she does. Her fridge actually blocks entrance to the oven and nothing about that bothers her.
I started really slowly watching and learning from friends. First rice and veggies in a pot with some olive oil, and salt. I probably made that a hundred times before venturing out into the culinary unknown. I still have a very hard time cooking with meat, and I sort of avoid it, although I am really getting into fish, and maybe that will send me on my way to chops, and fillets, and whole bodies of birds. Maybe.
Your week in cooking: I always make oatmeal for breakfast, on the stove. I shoot for 3-4 lunch/supper meals a week. Generally sticking to the basics of stir-fry, home-made pizzas, pasta. I try to learn a new recipe or venture out of my comfort zone about once a month. I have an 8 month old and a two year old, for anybody who might not know, and so cooking is a slow, all day process, usually involving one hand or someone crying.
Culinary fascination of the moment: Pretty clear that its coconut, no? I am also trying to get the hand of alternative flours in my baking such as kamut, spelt, and buckwheat.
Culinary ambitions: I just want to feed my family. I hope that as my kids grow I can invite them to join in making meals with me, we can learn together. I think in the next year I will get myself back into baking on a regular basis. Home-made sweets are always the best kind.
Your dream kitchen: Lots of cupboard space to shove my messes into. A large island to gather around, and maybe a couch for guests to cozy themselves as I keep myself busy making food for everyone. A kitchen should be a place to gather.