Who is Bo?

Hello! My name is Bo, well that's my nickname, my full name is Kenneth Cobb. Thanks for visiting the "Cooking With Bo" website. 

Cooking was a huge part of my momma's (Mary Ann) household with Sundays and holidays being the most cooking and the biggest meals. It was traditional and we were known as the family on the block for such! Friends would ask frequently, "What did Ms. Cobb cook today?" But, being our momma's "sous chefs" was not an option. Through all the yelling, fussing and cussing my momma made towards us and through our complaining or not following directions, it was all worth it! She was simply planting seeds into us whether that was her goal or not. She was creating a legacy! There were no gender roles in her household! We all cooked, washed dishes, took out the trash, etc. In regard to cooking, our momma taught us the art of frying, baking, picking greens, dicing potatoes, frosting cakes, making cornbread for beans or dressing and more. Our meals were home cooked, and she didn't buy us fast foods. 

After I graduated from Northwest High, I went to Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. SIUE at that time, didn't have dorms but, apartments; this was an advantage for several reasons. Having a full kitchen served its purpose. I was blessed to have roommates that we would eventually become brothers. We would cook meals frequently and at times big meals on Sundays. Even with the smaller meals we cooked, we still put our hearts into it. Like, the hamburger helper meal that our boy Wood made was on point and delicious - even with all that cheese. In our minds we were fine dining. LOL! We were cooks in the apartments and you couldn't tell us that we weren't. We were the family away from home. It was cool!

As time went on, I became a vegetarian that started from a bet from Wood and John back in 1993. I was reading this article on Alonzo Mourning as he talked about the benefits of not eating red meat. I was like, "I can do this!', but, Wood and John was like, "PLEASE! No, you can't!" So, we betted, and I was to start that night. But there were a couple of problems. It was a Thursday night, party night at college, the peak of my drinking days AND we had left over beef steak from dinner! The struggle was real! I caved in about 1am. UGH! The next morning, they talked about me bad. I had to redeem myself and told them to give me another chance. We agreed! I was determined this time. That one day turned into a week, that week into a month and that month into a year. I felt and looked lighter. Then, each year afterwards, I gave up a meat with fish being the last. Around 1997, I was full vegetarian. I would eventually tweak several of my momma's dishes and make them vegetarian friendly. I found myself cooking for family/friends, cooking for co-workers, cooking meals in the group homes and even teaching the residents in the group homes cooking techniques and nutrition. 

"Cooking With Bo", was created to share heathy and delicious meals that are planted based and natural (no process ingredients). This book is for the home cooks and those who are intimidated with cooking.  I truly believe that people who are intimidating with cooking will be inspired to cook these simple meals. I like to look at cooking as creating art. So, look at cooking as creating your own Mona Lisa or one of Jean-Michel Basquiat's masterpieces. May you find the joy of cooking with my cookbook! Thanks again for the support!