So, I've come to the conclusion that so far...I love to cook! I love to experiment with cooking meals and I also love to bake. When I bake I like to make it an art. As in, if the yummy little morsel of baking goodness can be accessorized or decorated in some way...it will be. Like pies. I don't like plain pies. I want to make some elaborate vine on top (usually something that I have the vision for but not the skill). Sometimes it comes out pretty...sometimes not. But I usually try.
I like to cook meals without recipes. I like to read the recipes, mentally store in my head what goes together and "works", and them come up with my own thing. Now, granted...if Jason and I are really hungry I don't experiment, I read the recipe to guarantee yuminess! Honestly, if we had more money my meals would be the BOMB! (Yeah, that's right! I just pulled that from my early 2000's bank of vocabulary). But making exceptional meals usually involve an exceptional amount of money...usually. I also like to entertain with food. I could care less about decoration of the house. I want to impress your palate! mmmm. (This is something that I discovered in Chile. When the other volunteers came over I would be SO excited. I would look forward to it for a week...planning the yummiest meal!)
So the question is...do I REALLY like to cook or is this a temporary, novelty thing? I know people have said that when they got married they were all into cooking but than it quickly faded. Well, I'm 10 months into it right now and so far...I love cooking! :)
*So, for those who also love cooking and enjoy more of the "science" behind it I received an AWESOME book as a wedding gift. Seriously, I love it and I wish I could remember who gave it to me because I just might KISS them. It's called Martha Stewart's Cooking School. (A Martha book...big surprise eh? Even if she IS a convicted criminal I'm still completely in love with what her line produces).
**Actually, maybe the person who gave it to me wrote a note in it in the front. Not sure. I shall have to go find it and check!
Will it last? Hmmm. Well I had a phase where I loved to cook (I made lots of super healthy food and baked bread - it was very enjoyable) and there have been cooking momments where I was back into it (remember the Thanksgiving in North Carolina when we baked all of those pies?). It is really a matter of time and energy. Working full time and having a family and home to take care of and being basicly exhausted can rob the joy out of any labor intensive persuits. Right now it is mostly my health that interferes with my love of cooking.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy cooking and collect your favorite recipies (especially the low cost easy ones). A binder and some plastic sheet protectors is about $3.00 at Big Lots and is an easy way to save print outs from the internet. Even if you get busy at times it won't last for ever. I think love of good food will most likely bring you back to it again.
After 4 years of marriage I still LOVE to cook and try to cook at least 5 times a week (either we eat out one of those nights or they both involve something my husband can heat up in the microwave ;) ). I've gone through many cook books and couldn't find anything I loved until I found Rachael Rays Big Orange Book. I LOVE IT. I cook out of it all the time, change some of the receipes and just love it. If you find something you love, make variations, find cheaper ingredients and just have fun with it. :).
ReplyDeleteMaking good food does not always require lots of money. A good recipe, quality ingredients and equipment and proper execution. My husband cooks fabulous cuisine most every night and often times it nets out to $10 for the two of us. If you haven't checked out The Barefoot Contessa, I recommend you do so. We love her stuff! Haven't had a bad recipe yet. Her cookbooks are at Costco right now. I have been printing her recipes from her page on the Food Network site. I punch holes in them and put them in a binder Keep on enjoying cooking!
ReplyDeleteFeel free to check out my husband's oft-neglected culinary blog for some tips/ideas. theknifeandfork.blogspot.com
It is true that cooking good meals doesn't always involve spending a lot. I think that if we had an inexhaustable "food budget" then I would buy all organic (well, really...if we are talking unlimited money I would have my OWN gi-normous organic garden, haha). But, have no house nor money for such a thing as that...for now :)
ReplyDeleteAs for Barefoot Contessa. YES! Have the book and love her stuff. She's great. I too am obsessed with printing out recipes. I need to buy a binder like my mom suggested. Currently I have been hanging out on AllRecipes.com. super fun to see all the yummy recipes that people come up with!