So long, farewell.

Ashley Thalman Photography

Shall I pour a little of my soul on here? I think I shall.

Three years ago to the day, I realized something profound. Food fascinates me. Ingredients, preparation methods, techniques, cultures, tools, traditions. All of those are something that I can't seem to get my fill of. And the best part is that the information and knowledge are endless.

After realizing this thing about myself, I wanted to write a food blog. I had seen a few and I thought I could take a crack at it. So I did and Rookie Cookie became mine.

I started out small. Posting occasionally and learning more about what my "culinary focus" was. As Jack, who was 2 at the time, grew and developed, I wanted him to try it all. So my food became more diverse. I found so much excitement in bringing home a new ingredient from the store and making something with it. Chinese long beans, orange blossom honey, walnut oil and blessed Nutella. Things found on the grocery top shelf, usually ignored.

As I blogged, our lives carried on. Jack grew, I had a miscarriage, got pregnant again, we went on vacations. And then there was the part where we found out my husband's weird looking feet were going to change our lives. Change them in the way that a failed surgery would move us from California to Utah. We would live at my parent's house for over a year and I would cry about all of this a lot. I would lay in bed on Ethan's shoulder at night and cry. Cry about leaving so many friends, family and our house. Cry about our income dissolving and being unsure about our future.

Oddly enough, these life-altering changes seemed to be cushioned with standing over a pot of simmering soup or rolling out a pie crust. Blogging about food and creating recipes became a welcome diversion. I didn't know it then, but food was healing me. Creating something was comforting. Moving away from my little house in California was painful. Watching my husband endure so many ailments was painful. A realization of an eventual wheelchair was painful. Feeling helpless with our lives being turned upside down was painful. But food was the one constant in my life. I might not be able to control what was going on, but I could control what was for dinner.

So blog I did. Blogged like crazy and used it as a distraction. I gained more readers, I met new friends and I stretched my cooking abilities. And all the while, my mom and dad footed the grocery bill and encouraged me along, knowing full well that cooking and food were my therapy.

Time has moved on. Ethan's foot pains are under control for now. Business is blossoming. Children are growing. There isn't anything in my life that scares me anymore. There are no more crying phone calls to my listening-ear sister Megan. I am happy and satisfied. So happy.

Food blogging has served it's purpose for me. I have gained so much from it and I can truly say it changed my life. It was a welcome focus when my life was hard. But as all things go, there is a time and a season. So it is with a grateful heart that I say goodbye. Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for giving me a place to stretch my abilities. I can truthfully say that I wouldn't be the cook I am without food blogging.

Please know you can always e-mail me if you have any cooking questions or just want to catch up. I would love to hear from you. whitney_leigh_ingram@yahoo.com. And no worries, I won't be taking the blog down. I will keep it up and you are still welcome to the recipes.

Since I really enjoy writing, I might end up doing just that on another blog sometime in the future. So I do have a blog you might want to subscribe to or check in on from time to time. whitneyingram.blogspot.com.

Once again, thank you so much for your friendship. Good luck and God bless.