TheSizzlingPan is celebrating 10 years!!!
TheSizzlingPan has been an integral part of my life for the past 10 years! I have loved sharing my kitchen…my recipes…my passion for food through this channel. I am proud of this journey, the delectable meals and recipes created, the delicious food my family and friends enjoyed and the friendships I made along the way. As we celebrate 10 years of this special connection, here is the story of TheSizzlingPan…
My ‘foodie’ genes
I was raised in a typical foodie family. My mom loved cooking and experimenting on new recipes. She cooked typical CKP style dishes with fish, coconut etc. but also made unique recipes of her own. My dad would encourage her by giving her small prizes when she perfected the recipe… and me and my little sister got the share of our prizes for helping our mom. My mom even took her passion to the next level and started and ran a food business for 15+ years. Her passion became her profession. This is where my interest in food was kindled. As I went to high school/ college I started looking at cook books and cooking and baking on my own. Black Forest Cake baked by me became a birthday staple for everyone in the family Jand homemade mango ice-cream made our summers super delicious!
Making homemade Mango Ice cream back home in Pune
MyKitchen’sAroma aka TheSizzlingPan
When I came to the US, my interest in food got stronger by watching a lot of international cooking shows. Racheal Ray, Ina Garten, Giada De Laurentiis, Iron Chef were some of my favorite ones to watch after I came back in the evening from work. I worked in a University, so there was a lot of exposure to different cultures and cuisines. I started experimenting with fusion recipes and new ingredients available in the grocery stores here. When I was on a ‘mommying’ sabbatical when my son was born, though I loved being a full-time mom, I missed the social connection in the work environment. I missed chatting with people with similar interests. Being a scientist…I missed experimenting and doing research. That’s when I thought about starting a food blog with encouragement from my husband and some friends…which would allow me to experiment on new recipes and connect with like- minded people through this channel. MyKitchensAroma was born on September 14, 2009 !
Lot of the earlier recipes were 'For little tummies' to sneak veggies in my little ones diet. These "Zucchini Fritters" were amongst the early recipes on the blog.
I loved the time …the ‘me’ time I got to document my recipes and connecting with friends and followers of the blog. I loved making delicious recipes are serving food that looked good in eye pleasing presentations. Very soon the scientist in me was intrigued by the ‘science’ of food. I decided to do a certification in food science to learn – the food chemistry...to learn what reactions take place in the food, which ingredients go well together, nutrition, preservation, food technology etc. I was also enthralled to share the science of food with the future chefs and scientists. I arranged workshops to teach kids that food can be magical and a super fun science learning experience.
To be honest, at one point, I thought about making ‘Food’ my profession…just like my mom. But my other passion…the Love for Science and Research excites me too! I love being a scientist and enjoy my profession. If I took food/cooking business as my profession, I would have to give up my career and profession as a scientist altogether. If I maintained food and cooking as my hobby, I could still be a full-time science researcher while cooking, trying new recipes and blogging in my free time. So that is what I did! This way I can have best of both the worlds J I would feel immensely grateful for my career, if through my contribution to Cancer research, someday an effective cancer therapy is developed. This would be a dream come true J
Few years ago…MyKitchensAroma had a makeover and a name change …. “TheSizzlingPan” was the new name. Through TheSizzlingPan, I have experimented with bringing in new sections like ‘Food Around The World’, recipes from Guest kitchen’s and the newest-TheSlimmingPan to share healthy and nutritious recipes and my fitness journey.
The new hand drawn logo of the blog
There have been ups and downs, times where I couldn’t share anything for months together due to life’s other commitments and priorities, while at other times I was beaming with ideas and experimenting with super excitement in my kitchen!
All in all,The Pan has always been Sizzling and making delicious food!J
My family enjoying a home baked chocolate cake :) Those smiles are precious!
It has been a fun 10-year journey of cooking, baking, drizzling and icing. And thank you all for being a part of this with me. I have enjoyed connecting and sharing my kitchen with each and everyone of you J
Thank you for visiting TheSizzlingPan!
Deepti Thete