i’m not really the domestic type. but lately, i realized that i should learn how to cook for my own survival. i can’t keep relying on the nearby carenderias to supply me with food. there have been many times when i badly wanted to eat something but i couldn’t because it wasn’t on their menu. or they have it but somehow, it doesn’t taste good (must be because they’re scrimping on the ingredients?). i also can’t keep praying that one of my housemates would cook a meal for the entire household so that i, too, could get to eat some “real food” for a change.
so here’s the survival cooking (self-learning) course i designed for myself:
1. saute
– sauteed baguio beans (a childhood favorite) and/or sauteed vegetables
– other saute recipe that’s not too complicated
2. soup
– chicken soup
– pork soup
– beef soup
3. main dish
– pork adobo :D
– chicken adobo
4. pasta
– chicken macaroni with lots of cheese and maybe some pineapples
– home-made pancit canton (yup, not the instant type) with lots of meat and greens
– any white pasta*
5. salad
– Caesar’s salad (so that i don’t have to go to KFC to get my Caesar’s salad fix)
6. dessert
– buko and/or mango pandan
- optional
after i gave the list a once-over, i became worried that it might be a tad too ambitious for someone like me. anyway, my priorities are the saute, soup, and adobo recipes. after i’ve gotten the hang of cooking, i might venture on to cooking the other things on my list, and then if i can push myself further, i might even learn to whip up something that sounds sexy and complicated like risotto, souffle, etc. yeah. ri-ight! :))
i’ve already started on the sauteed vegetables, by the way. my first attempt (sauteed baguio beans) was really bland (because i forgot to add some ginisa mix, or MSG). i even had to force myself to finish eating the whole thing so that it will not go to waste!
my second attempt (sauteed assorted vegetables, still with my favorite baguio beans), on the other hand, was something that i could eat without grimacing. hehe. anyway, i never said i’m cooking to satisfy the discriminating palates of other people, right? hehe. :P
and i did the sauteed baguio beans and vegetables without looking at a recipe book! (hah! i even manage to make that sound like an achievement XD maybe i should get out more)
anyway, a note on my recently acquired inclination to cooking: initially, i wanted to keep this a secret. i planned on doing my cooking “experiments” only when all my housemates are asleep or are not around the house so that they won’t have to witness my disturbing cooking attempts. experiment number 1 was an “undercover mission” success, save for the part when my housemate came home late from overtime work and thus discovered the “residues” of my experiment on the pan. my housemates knew of my second attempt because they woke up from their holiday afternoon nap earlier than i anticipated. one even jokingly asked if i had a boyfriend. harhar. anyway, the thing is that i recently had this unexplainable desire to be “self-sufficient”. for me, self-sufficiency means being able to take care of myself, which includes feeding myself without relying too much on others.
self-sufficiency sounds too noble a goal for the likes of me, methinks. i can laugh at the absurdity right now. for the time being, let’s just pretend that i have the ability to see that goal through. :D
after learning how to cook, i think i’ll learn how to swim. then i might take up basic carpentry, electricity and plumbing, buy my own computer, and then i’ll be all set to live on my own! well, maybe i’m just getting a little bit carried away with the carpentry, electricity and plumbing part.
well, good luck to me! :)
