Here is what we have discovered in our months of cooking:
1. Planning a single meal takes a ton of preparation.
2. Planning dinner starts that morning. There is literally no "whipping anything up."
3. We go on a daily scavenger hunt to collect items for this said dinner.
4. Remember to unthaw any frozen items necessary for meal, be that bread, meat, cheese or something else. No unthaw = no meal. Learned this the hard way several times (ie peanut butter for Amanda and fruit rollups for me as dinner).
5. Now you must wash and cut everything and then you can cook! It seems like it ends up becoming an all-day affair.
We cooked fajitas tonight. I laughed as I thought about the fact that the only time in my life I have ever cooked fajitas is if the stuff already comes frozen in a bag and you just dump that mess onto a skillet and voila! Literally, unless eating out, everything I ever cooked before was pre-packaged in a bag, box, or can. Now we have to go around this city to find items, prepare them and cook. As much more prep time goes into a meal here, there are definite advantages. I have found, that contrary to my previous belief, fresh is better. This was first discovered in the area of green beans. I do not think I had ever eaten green beans not out of a can. I had certainly never snapped green beans in my life. The best thing, by far, about cooking is when it's all said and done, you sit down to eat and it actually tastes good. It's just an instant reward for all the time and effort put into it.
There are several wonderful ladies here that have given us a lot of pointers on how to cook. I am forever grateful that we've moved past the days of baguettes, cereal and other random assorted items for meals.
In case you were wondering, we've mastered: tacos, chicken pot pie, potato soup, fajitas, homemade pizza, as well as breakfast items and desserts. Obviously, we've got a long way to go still but we've made a great start.
Also, an apron is now part of my wardrobe. Who am I?
Downright domesticated!
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