To Cook Or Not To Cook......

One of my goals for 2010 was to expand upon my 3 staple recipes that I've come to know (and cook often) and go outside my comfort zone and try and to find some peace in the kitchen. One week into 2010 and I already feel defeated. Last Sunday Joe and I sat down with our new cookbooks to find some new recipes for the week. Once the recipes were chosen, off to the grocery store we went together (such a bonding experience :-) When Monday rolled around I felt good knowing that at the end of the day I would not have to face the question of "What's for dinner" as we already had the answer. I had found what I thought to be this easy pasta dish from Rachel Ray- she makes it look to so easy on TV right? How hard could it be? Well it turned out to be hard enough that I had to call Joe in for backup at one point as I didn't have enough hands to control all my burners. Lesson #1 of the week- Pasta does not equal a "simple" dinner. Round two came Tuesday night. I found what sounded like a great tasting Chicken Kung Pao recipe in one of my magazines. This was the second night in a row where I had all the burners covered but felt much more in control of the situation. That was until I added corn starch to my simmering sauce and instead of a thickening effect to the mixture, I was just left with chunks. Lesson #2- one must add a little water to corn starch before adding it to mixture. The second attempt was a success and the results were quite tasty. Round three just put things over the edge Wednesday night. Another Rachel Ray recipe- Asian inspired chicken burgers with a side of pasta. I was on the phone when Joe started reading over the recipe-that was when the moaning started and the question of "Did you even read this recipe?" I responded with a "sort off" as the picture looked good. As he got the ingredients out, he asked where the tomatoes were-I told him I'm not really a fan of green tomatoes and decided not to buy them. Next question came about where was this certain spice- Tamarin or something to that affect??? I told him since I couldn't pronounce that I didn't look for it-oops. Operation dinner #3 got underway and was only successful with Joe and I both cooking together. He commented on how it was as nice thing for us to do together (in our very tiny kitchen) and soon we were in the cooking groove only to be interrupted by little disagreements as to what "chopped ginger" really means- I still say it should have gone in the food processor as I was choking on chunks throughout the meal. By 8 o'clock that night we were finally able to sit down to dinner with what looked like a hurricane that had come through our kitchen. Lesson #3- Read the entire recipe over first and don't just get enticed by the pictures! Exhausted and defeated we're back on quick dinners this week that take little preparation or thought and have ingredients that we can pronounce. I need a week to get over my frustration with Rachel Ray and her smile in the kitchen and hope to get back on the cooking wagon again soon.