I know 2 entries in a row. Back off, I’m catching up.
Jenny actually tried this time. I think she’s starting to care a bit more. She made a pasta casserole with meat and veggies. She also made a nice basic salad. I’m not a huge casserole fan, but It was good. I’m just so proud of her that she wanted to do it, she set out to do it, and she did a good job. She must have been wrapped up with the casserole, that I guess she forgot to make some garlic bread or antyhing. At the last minute we just toasted up some wheat bread as a side.
For my turn, I set my goals a bit higher. I wanted to try making something my mother always cooked. I skimped on making the couscous . I just bought that instant just add water stuff. I also made humus from scratch. I made this last second adjustment before pouring it out of the food processor, and I must have done something good. The humus was almost exactly like my mothers. It was a bit salty, but other than that it was great. I also made this middle eastern meat and potato stew thing that turned out to be just like my mothers. I was so ecstatic at how things turned out, that I took my leftovers to my folks the next day and they ate them and loved it. Actually I’m rather amazed that little old me made that. To be honest, I don’t think I be able to repeat the success.
Melanie cooked the other night. She was running late and we ended up eating at about 9:30. I hope the fact that by the time we ate, I was starved didn’t affect my taste perception. She made rice with edamame and vinegar. It was nice with a little subtle taste of vinegar. She made mushrooms sautéed in white whine and lemon juice. She also made asparagus wrapped with turkey filets. Everything was good, but those mushrooms were out of this world. It think the three of us were just sitting there eating the rice and turkey, disappointed that we had finished the mushrooms. I was so ready to tackle the two of them and steal what mushrooms they had left on their plates.
Round 2 winner: ME! for my humus. Fine, Melanie’s mushrooms. I’m still dreaming about them now.
I was going to post a picture of the humus, but I couldn’t stop eating it.
I’ve been meaning to catch up on some blog entries. Mostly about my cooking New Years Resolution. I actually got a couple of friends together and started a cooking club where we take turns cooking. It’s been going fairly strong since the first of the year. Here’s the brief overview of what I forgot to tell you about.
Jenny cooked first. She made a “Pot” Roast in the oven. I guess that makes an oven roast. It was a large piece of meat. It was a bit overcooked on the outside, and a bit raw on the inside. We cut the cooked meet off and threw it back in the oven before finishing the rest off. Good thing is nobody got sick. Bad thing is Jenny cheated and used prepackaged spices.
I cooked next. I made turkey enchiladas, spanish rice, and salad. I cheated a bit on my spanish rice. I just threw some rice in the rice cooker and poured in a cup of Pace Picante sauce on top. I made a few mistakes with the enchiladas. I ran out of meet, so I made some with just cheese. I also didn’t make enough sauce to cover them, so some turned out a bit dry. I thought they were a bit spicy, but Jenny and Melanie seemed to be impressed. YAY ME!
Finally it was Melanie’s turn to cook. We were a bit overwhelmed with the fact that she can really cook. She made a really cool salad that was basically half an avocado, with bacon and watercress on top and a simple lemon dressing. It was good. She also made thai beef in the broiler that was good. As a side we had hot water cornbread, which if I understand it correctly, is deep fried cornmeal lumps.
Round 1 winner: Melanie with the avocado salad thing.
I somehow managed to find the motivation to go to the grocery store. My lack of experience posed a bit of an obstacle. I didn’t really know where to find everything, and I must have walked past the garlic about 12 times before I noticed it.
I got home and got to work on Meat and Cheese Lasagna.
DO NOT FOLLOW THIS RECIPE.
Did I say not to follow this recipe, I meant DON’T YOU EVEN DARE FUCKING FOLLOW THIS RECIPE.
Let’s overlook the fact that I have no idea what I’m doing for just 1 second. I don’t like spinach, so I just left that part out. Maybe that’s what fucked things up, but I doubt it. Is this guy fucking nuts with:
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh oregano leaves
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh thyme leaves
You might as well just stick that in your mouth and chew on those alone. That’s way too much! I should have known better. Besides being over spiced, I had a few fiascos of my own.
I didn’t have the proper pan so, I used a brownie pan. It worked out fine.
I should have payed more attention to what I was doing and covered the top layer of pasta with sauce so it wouldn’t have gotten too dry and crispy.
Other than that, It actually turned out OK.
The big success was the mincing of the garlic. I just turned a knife on it’s side and bashed it just like in the cooking shows.
I guess the other big success is that since my enthusiasm is infectious, I may have accidentally started a cooking club. A neighbor of mine has a friend who loves to cook, and really wanted to help us learn our way around the kitchen. My neighbor is first in the rotation. We’ll have to see how Thursday Night’s dinner turns out.
It’s about time I get my act together. I don’t eat very well or often. I never cook. I’ve been meaning to cook a bit more often, and there’s no time to start like now. The only problem I have is I have is I hard a time finding the motivation to cook for just myself. I’m going to try to entertain more often, and cook.
I’ve wanted to start a supper club were we take turns cooking for each other. In the meantime, I should practice my cooking.
I pulled 6 dishes off the net for this week. Now all I have to do is make a shopping list, and hot the grocery store. OH MY GOD! I think the idea will die right there. I never go to the store.
Maybe I’ll post an ad on Craig’s List or something.
