Learn to Cook! And enjoy it!

I was planning on closing out this goal but recently I received an email that changed my mind, at least for a little while.

A friend emailed me a “chain letter” for a recipe exchange. There are only 2 names on the letter. I send 1 easy recipe to the 1st name, take that name off and add my name to the 2nd spot. Next I email the request out to 20 people. Hopefully, they’ll do the same…and so on…and so on.

Now I’m just waiting for the recipes to start rolling in.

Today I made vegetable broth. Homemade. From scratch. I even crushed some herbs with my new mortar and pestle.
The house still smells good. I can’t wait to try it.

I recently donated to a food drive and received a $10 certificate for Chef Central. Nice incentive although I was happy to donate (and clean out my pantry).

But what to buy? I suddenly remembered that although I’ve stocked up on spices and herbs, I had nothing to pulverize them with. Well, I do sorta: I’ve been using the back of an ice cream scoop – hey, it works….

So…I bought a lovely little mortar and pestle. Small white, I think marble but it could be ceramic.

I’m looking forward to crushing some stuff!

I had a brain storm on Monday – I have the GF grill, why not grill some hot dogs? I threw a few on the grill (I love the way that sounds!) and in 3 minutes, those puppies were cooked and had those lovely “grill-stripes” on them. Just the way I like ‘em! I just added some pickles, sauerkraut and a big salad and I had my own mini-bar-b-que on a weeknight!

At a garage sale last week, I bought a George Foreman Grill Cookbook. I took it as a sign to finally break out the grill…it HAS been a year….so it seemed appropriate to use it Memorial Day. What’s a summer holiday without bar-b-que?

I chose 2 simple recipes – basic herb/spice rubs for chicken and steak – and I made them both. I also grilled squash and onions. It wasn’t hard and it all came out delish!!
There’s something special about grilling on a holiday. Next time, I’ll have to eat it on my terrace!

in my oven doesn’t seem to be co-operating. Either I’m clueless as to how to use it (remember, I’m not really a cook) or it’s on it’s way out. However, a friend reminded me that I purchased a George Foreman grill last year – which is still in the box. I think it’s time to break it out!

I’ve been cooking chicken because it’s so versatile but I needed a change. Recently a new Whole Foods market opened nearby and I befriended the butcher. He took the time to tell me about the different cuts of meat (not that I’ll remember it but it was a good experience none the less).
I got a nice piece of sirloin. I mixed together garlic, onion salt, ground pepper, crushed fennel and rosemary, some EVOO and brushed it on the steak. I pan-seared it first then broiled it. I then sauteed mushrooms and onions in the pan. I added a baked potato and some broccoli.
Wha-la…a beautiful meal…and so tasty too!

I had defrosted a large bag of chicken tenderloins (Trader Joe’s)on Saturday and needed to cook/freeze them. But what to cook? I went thru my recipes, checked the fridge and came up with a few “experiments”.

While I was marinating a few pieces in a soy sauce/lemon/ginger mix I made, I was saute’ing some with onions and green peppers. Yum! When those were done, I put the soy chicken in the oven to bake and sauted more chicken with mushrooms, onions and garlic (hey, it’s OK, I’ve got no one to kiss…). While doing all of this, I was washing the dishes, chopping veggies and peeling apples (making a fruit salad for the week).

Then I made dinner for myself: chicken (it was a BIG bag) with sauted squash, steamed broccoli and a baked potato (I nuked that). My kitchen smelled great!

At one point, I literally stopped and looked at what I was doing. I couldn’t believe it was me. I was cooking and I enjoyed it. I’m totally amazed. I will never be Julia Child (for us older folks) or Rachel Ray, but I had fun. That’s something I NEVER thought I would say about cooking….

I rearranged the cabinets in the kitchen this morning….which created total confusion for me when making dinner tonight! Where’d everything go?

I realized last night that I need to rearrange a bit in my kitchen.
The cabinet over my sink holds things that I don’t use often (beer mugs?!) The spices are in a cabinet over the sink – opposite the stove. Shouldn’t they be near the stove and the counter where I prep the food?
I need to look at what else would make the flow more in sync with the cooking experience….