become a great cook

I’m going to make a quiche. I’m thinking spinach and feta possibly, and maybe throw in a little bacon as well.

The problem is now that I am making all this yummy food to keep my mom’s weight up during chemo, mine went up slightly too! Ahhh I know I just need to make things…and TRY them… but they’ve been turning out quite well and its hard to resist!

This week I decided I’ll learn different ways to cook a sweet potato, a vegetable rich in potassium (which is incidentally fantastic for my mom, who is going through chemotherapy right now). Tomorrow I’m cooking a sweet potato souffle, later in the week a casserole, then who knows? Might get a little crazy haha

I’ve been cooking a lot of chili lately, which is great for the current wintery weather situation. I’ve added pinto beans instead of kidney, simply because I hate the way they look… I’ve also been making mini brownie bites, cupcakes, and other desserts! woo

This morning I woke up and made omeletes before throwing together ingredients for my first-solo banana bread (there’s always so many extra bananas that are going bad around the house!). The omelettes were, as always, pretty superb. The banana bread, on the other hand, had great consistency, yet wasn’t extremely flavorful. I guess next time I’ll try four bananas instead of three. haha

On a bright note, one of my girlfriends is starting to put together a book of recipes from her family’s culinary conquests over the years. We made chili yesterday and something called “tree bark” (actually, it’s called “bark, with pretzels and peanuts,” but I think “tree bark is much more exciting-sounding), and I decided that I wanted to do the same thing. I have a book of old recipes from my grandmother, Solveig, so maybe that’ll be a good start! I think Chicken Cacciatore will also be one of my next dishes… then maybe chili or something spicy!!

I’ve always been an incredible breakfast chef. Okay, so golden pancakes, perfect cheese omelets, and vanilla-flavored french toast is pretty much the extent of my breakfast repertoire. Though my menu is small and collectively, they aren’t the most complicated dishes ever… they always turn out fairly well for me. You could say I cook with consistency.

However, I recently decided that I wanted to expand my palette (another one of my goals!), and thereby, learn to cook some new delicious dishes. Plus, with what’s going on with my mom right now, there’s no better time to give back to my family. Growing up, my family didn’t cook much. I am an only child, had busy, constantly working parents, and packed my own days with a bevy of activities. And being part of an Italian family, pasta was served most nights.

Yet, it was every so often that my mom would take to the kitchen, strap on some oven mitts, and make some of her signature dishes; Dishes that were so delicious, they would have everyone wondering when the next time would roll around for more. It wasn’t that she was a fantastic chef herself; Rather, just like my simplistic breakfasts, these dishes were no-fail party pleasers, not time-consuming, and didn’t ever require her to sift through dozens of recipes to remember the ingredients & steps. Pasta al Forno. Stew. Italian meatballs. She’s not Italian, but she might as well be.

In the last few weeks, I am proud to say that I have now attempted all three dishes. I tried adding chopped nuts and bananas to my pancakes. I even found a great recipe for mini banana muffins (mmmm!) and will be making banana bread this afternoon (Sounds like a lot of banana baking, haha). But this is only the beginning of my culinary conquest. I love having cocktail parties, Christmas pot-lucks, and wine & cheese soirees. Since I envision a lot of these in my future, great cooking is a must. I want to make sure that by the time I am a successful journalist, independent & living in a fabulous apartment in the city, I’ll be able to whip up fantastic dishes and treats anytime I want!