Category Archives: Personal

What’s on Jonathan’s mind.

Upcoming Posts!

I’ve started a new weight-loss journey, so I’m going to be revisiting recipes and retooling them to be lower in fat and, whenever possible, healthier!

Coming up soon will be a Chicken Jalapeno Popper dip/casserole, as well as a Mexican Stuffed Shells dish. I sense a Mediterranean style salad in the near future as well, so 2024 will be off to a good start.

Right now, I’m still battling a sinus infection, so my on-line time is limited, gentle readers. I hope to see you soon!. – Jonathan Everyday

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I Feel The Magic…

It’s been a while since we’ve engaged in a meaningful chat, dear readers of The Wannabe Gourmet. Pull up a chair and I’ll pour a cup of coffee for you.

Most people find Autumn/Winter to be a time for descent/death and spring to be a time for Rebirth. While I feel that way, too, I also see beauty in the rebirth brought during the Autumn/Winter timeframe, when the slate is proverbially “wiped clean,” giving us the ability to create, to find ourselves again.

Since I started this website in October 2008, there have been many ups and downs in my life. Sometimes the gardens have blossomed in beauty and life has been better than I could ever imagine. Other times, the weeds took over and an occasional tornado has blown it all away. I’ve been catfished, I’ve been married, I’ve been divorced. I’ve gone through hades in employment, but kept on travelling and, after a period of almost 17 years outlasted a supervisor whose sole intent it was to either terminate me or make it so I’d resign. I’ve had health issues culminating in a heart attack due to stress. Through it all, however, has remained the desire I have of assisting others in learning there’s more to life than just take-away food and UberEATS.

We’re at the start of a New Beginning for The Wannabe Gourmet. To be pendantic, I, Jonathan Everyday, am looking forward to this continued journey. My love for photography and cooking has never waned…though it had been severely curtailed due to circumstances. The kitchen should never be a place that scares you. So you have a dish that doesn’t turn out the way you’d like…. we’ve all had that. The important thing is that you learn from your experiences. Grow from life. Move beyond what didn’t work…into what allows you to shine. Maybe you’re not meant to be able to make beautiful desserts. Maybe main courses just aren’t your thing. Maybe…just maybe…you’re like me and can’t cook in small amounts. (The solution to that is simple: either get a freezer, or feed your friends and extended family!)

Join me in the voyage to new beginnings. Feel the sparkle. Embrace the magic!

Photo © 2022 L. B. Siegfried, Richmond, VA

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I’ve not forgotten you, gentle readers

It’s just been a whirlwind of activity for The Wannabe Gourmet. Dealing with this winter flu (strange, we’ve not seemed to have HAD a winter), learning a new camera, filing for domains to be discontinued (if I’ve not been paid for them, why am I hosting them?), work, and more… I’ve been cooking, still, but it’s been my easy-peasy go-to items that don’t need to be showcased time and again.

I hope, soon, to have other, new recipes (or new takes on older favourites) to share with you all.

John / Silver Blue / The Wannabe Gourmet

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2011 in the kitchen

Jonathan Everyday here — it’s been a little over a month since my last post, but I’ve not stepped back from cooking. I’m retooling some recipes to make them lighter, tastier, lower in sodium, etc.

Like most people, I’ve used the change in years — not for resolutions, but to actually MAKE a change in my life. I’m not giving up eating tasty foods. I’m certainly not giving up cooking in my kitchen (in fact, thank you Chef J for the gift of the Calphalon cookware! I’m humbled!).

I will say that the reason I’m continuing on my path of lower fat/sodium healthier cooking is that I like the way I feel after having a meal full of flavour, that leaves me feeling satisfied, yet not stuffed.

What goals have you set for yourself over the next year?

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