More Kitchen Adventures

B recently suggested that I try to be a bit more “lady like.” Less beer, more blow drying. Less pizza, more pearls. He also said I should try cooking more. These are all great ideas, BB. Let me go consider that while I sip on an Oktoberfest and pull up the Papa Gino’s menu.

These suggestions? Didn’t actually happen. Me? Blow drying my hair? Getting dolled up? Using the oven? Novel concepts, I know. 

On a serious note, I’ve actually been having some of these thoughts. Not the hair and make-up part. Props to all the babes out there who rock their ‘do’s and make-up; I don’t have the patience or the steady hand for all that.

But the cooking is something I’m trying to get on board with. I’ve mentioned before about how I don’t like cooking b/c I don’t have the patience for it. I get home from work famished and can barely wait for B to get home so we can head over to Taco Bell, let alone wait for a real meal to cook. 

I’ve been doing some research on this thing called the interwebs; seriously, how did newbie cooks function w/out Google? Some of my questions today included: “Is baking soda the same as baking powder?” (No.) “Is stirring by hand the same as an electric mixer?” (Hell no). “How do you cut an onion?” (should have added “w/out crying” to that query). 

By cooking on the weekends (read about last weekend’s huge embarrassing failures here) I’m learning the basics. Like the fact that a paring knife is not an equitable substitute for a chef’s knife. And vanilla extract tastes nothing like vanilla (I guess that’s what I get for needing to sample everything). 

I’m getting my bearings so that when I want to whip something up on the week nights after work, I’ll have some go-to recipes and a basic knowledge that I can throw something together that’s relatively quick and tasty. 

That’s what I tell myself as I tread the uncharted territory that is the kitchen. I don’t have any staples yet, but I do have a success story from today. Two of 'em, actually.

First was this crock-pot lasagna I found over here. Totally easy. I could have even done it w/out sous chef B (but I totally appreciate it babe!) And it was a hit! Not that B’s picky; his mom is a bomb cook, and I’ve got BIG shoes to fill. But he loved it. What we didn’t love was the blackened crust that was the sides of the crock-put; guess I shouldn’t have skipped step #1. 

Followed up by these peanut butter chunk oatmeal bars (thanks Sally!) Which ended up being more like a peanut butter chunk oatmeal giant cookie that I’ve been picking at all day. It tastes fab; it’s just a little crumbly. I don’t think it could handle being cut into bars. So why waste the effort? Taking a fork to the dish works just as well. Deelish.

Do you guys have any simple, (relatively) healthy recipes perfect for after a long day at work? Is your resolve as shot as mine at the end of the day? 

I should probably just quit whining about it and pour myself a glass of wine. That’s a part of cooking I can definitely get on board with.