cook once a week

Chicken and vegetable wok (with rice): not very hard to do.
It did take quite a while to cut all the vegetables…
It was… okay…, just okay.

Meat was nice and tender, sauce was delicious, potatoes and broccoli were yummie :)

turned out great! Pretty proud of myself right now :)

I will make tomato soup. Never made soup before, so I hope I’ll succeed :)

the “Start to Cook” book for inspiration.

yay – had dropped this one way down my goal list b/c of other priorities, but actually ended up making mac’n’cheese (the real stuff – only way to cook or eat it!) this week AND shared with a friend who’s always being generous w/ extra bits of her culinary productions. Not the most complex thing, but it was nice to have it, especially since I already had the ingredients so I wasn’t spending more money.

I’m gonna put on a podcast. I’m gonna concentrate on the process of cutting, colors, stirring, smelling, tossing, sounds and textures, rather than just the eating part at the end.

So, there is a dish that I make called Chicken Mushroom Surprise. There’s chicken, a can of cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, and ‘surprises’ involved. Like what else to throw in the dish as I prep it.

It has been a successful dish over and over again, and that’s just one of the small things that I cook once a week.

I believe I can officially say I have this one in the bag, now.

Hooray! ^_

Define ‘cook’: Well, okay…

Cook: –verb (used with object)
1. to prepare (food) by the use of heat, as by boiling, baking, or roasting.
2. to subject (anything) to the application of heat.
3. Slang. to ruin; spoil.
4. Informal. to falsify, as accounts: to cook the expense figures.
–verb (used without object)
5. to prepare food by the use of heat.
6. (of food) to undergo cooking.
7. Slang.
a. to be full of activity and excitement: Las Vegas cooks around the clock.
b. to perform, work, or do in just the right way and with energy and enthusiasm: That new drummer is really cooking tonight. Now you’re cooking!
c. to be in preparation; develop: Plans for the new factory have been cooking for several years.
d. to take place; occur; happen: What’s cooking at the club?–noun
8. a person who cooks: The restaurant hired a new cook.—Verb phrases
9. cook off, (of a shell or cartridge) to explode or fire without being triggered as a result of overheating in the chamber of the weapon.
10. cook up, Informal.
a. to concoct or contrive, often dishonestly: She hastily cooked up an excuse.
b. to falsify: Someone had obviously cooked up the alibi.
—Idioms
11. cook one’s goose. goose (def. 11).
12. cook the books, Slang. to manipulate the financial records of a company, organization, etc., so as to conceal profits, avoid taxes, or present a false financial report to stockholders.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Well, while all that may be true, it doesn’t define ‘cooking’ for me. I’ve been doing a steady diet of bagels, pasta, and other foods. Granted, while at their base they are already prepared (pre-sliced bagels, pasta in a bag), I still have to do some work myself (toasting, adding to it, boiling water & olive oil, etc.).

The last culinary delight I made from almost scratch was baked macaroni and cheese. I had to buy the cheese, the bread crumbs and the pasta, but had everything else like flour and butter. It was quite tasty, but again, not everything I had in it came from scratch.

What defines cooking for you? Am I cooking, or not?

Food for thought.

This is not feasibly happening until at least this semester is over, but I’m adding it anyway!