The Beginning

I cannot believe that I am finally doing this! I have been talking about starting a blog for the past two years and I have finally worked up the courage to start one. I’m a little nervous, yet so excited! What makes it a little unnerving is that I feel like I am laying open a small part of my soul for the world, and possibly a few weirdos, to see. But that’s okay. I have convinced myself that this will be the start of a beautiful experience and an excellent outlet for my occasional bursts of creativity.

For those of you that have stumbled across my blog, I shall start by introducing myself. My name is Soumiea and I have all five vowels in my name. I truly love my parents for unknowingly giving me such a unique spelling; it’s great for email addresses. I have lived in a few different places and I have been fortunate enough to travel to so many wonderful places. My life experiences have primarily been shaped by growing up in northern Alabama for eighteen years, living a few years in upstate New York, spending a decade working in Phoenix (it’s a dry heat, y’all) and loving my five magical childhood summers in Florida (unfortunately, not a dry heat). The most defining parts of my life can be traced back to countless afternoons in my mother’s kitchen with a 1980s Betty Crocker cookbook, thousands of hours exploring my dad’s book collection, family trips to foreign lands, ten years as an engineer at one of the largest companies in the world, my faith in God and a soul that deeply yearns for Libya. And now life has taken me to northern Germany! Honestly, that last one just sounds so random.

However, the one constant through all of my life has been my love of cooking and baking. It is a gift that I have inherited from my beautiful and amazing mother. My mama has been and will always be my greatest inspiration. She taught me the joy of cooking for friends, family and strangers. She showed me how to take simple ingredients and create the most delectable dishes. She taught me that cooking should have no borders because the best foods are a fusion of international recipes, ingredients and techniques. She passed on her family recipes of Libyan dishes and shared her dozens of cookbooks with me. She also signed me up for the Wilton Cake Decorating class at J.C. Penney when I was in high school. But the most important lesson that I have learned from her is that the simple act of cooking can be the greatest expression of love. And this blog is how I will share my love.