OK. So everyone, it seems, is writing a blog about something food related these days. Is it in hopes of getting a book deal like the waiter from "waiter rant"? Or a book leading to a movie like Julie Powell?
Yes, I have seen Julie & Julia...and I have read excerpts from the blog that started it all...but I didn't get this idea from that. No, this has been stewing (I am prone to puns...that is something you'll just have to deal with) for some time now...
I am a useless cook...completely useless....I am terrible at timing everything right, I'm a bit squeamish about handing raw meat, and I'm fairly dangerous when wielding a knife. (*an aside* Using the term "wielding" has its own set of negative connotations...wielding ANYTHING sounds threatening, "The thief stormed through the bank doors wielding a bread stick"....sounds a bit dangerous...Oooo..."brandishing" is another good one...right....digressing...). Anyway, I no longer wish to be a terrible cook, and I had to think of some way to fix it. I had a couple of options:
1. Learn from mom. This seems, on the surface, to be the most logical choice. Now, don't get me wrong...there are many things that my mom makes, and makes really, REALLY well....and there are definitely things that I can learn from her....but she and I have some major disagreements when it comes to cooking. The major one is the "doneness" of meat...specifically, roast beef and steak. I didn't know that humans could consume meat with a pinkish interior until I was about 16, and was having dinner at a friend's house. It was a major discovery...a real coming of age situation. I joke with my mom that her method for cooking a roast is to cook it until it is well-done, and then cook it for another hour. I'll tell you, though....you can't beat her gravy...
Cooking for my mom is also highly problematic. There is a facial expression she gets when I know she hates what I have cooked, and while I am positive that she doesn't intend for it to be this way, that look says, "Well great, now we have no dinner, and it is your fault. I suppose it's time to microwave some soup so I don't starve to death..." All of that pressure is a major obstacle for me, so I try to cook things when I know I'm the only one eating it...so mom and I should not be in the kitchen at the same time...
2. Take a cooking class. I live in a small-ish town...that is not a very viable option for me...nor is it financially prudent...so that isn't going to work.
3. Own a library of cookbooks, and all 8 seasons of America's Test Kitchen (as well as season 1 of Cook's Country TV), and just force myself to cook things from them. Hmmm...not a bad idea. Sure, living in Canada makes it difficult to get some of the recommended brands....and some of the Flintstone-sized cuts of meat are not readily available (probably because we're shipping them to the U.S.), but I should be able to make that work. But wait! What's the motivating factor? What can drive me to even attempt it?
3b. Present the process to an audience. I am a musician...I am a performer...if I have an audience of some kind, then maybe I'll be able to stick with it because I'll feel like if I don't, I'm letting my audience down...and to a performer, that is simply not acceptable.
So, with that decided, here I am. Because my schedule is a bit frantic, the only time I have to cook things, really, is on weekends...so, I am "the Friday to Sunday foodie"
...so, what's next?
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Overture
OK. So everyone, it seems, is writing a blog about something food related these days. Is it in hopes of getting a book deal like the waiter from "waiter rant"? Or a book leading to a movie like Julie Powell?
Yes, I have seen Julie & Julia...and I have read excerpts from the blog that started it all...but I didn't get this idea from that. No, this has been stewing (I am prone to puns...that is something you'll just have to deal with) for some time now...
I am a useless cook...completely useless....I am terrible at timing everything right, I'm a bit squeamish about handing raw meat, and I'm fairly dangerous when wielding a knife. (*an aside* Using the term "wielding" has its own set of negative connotations...wielding ANYTHING sounds threatening, "The thief stormed through the bank doors wielding a bread stick"....sounds a bit dangerous...Oooo..."brandishing" is another good one...right....digressing...). Anyway, I no longer wish to be a terrible cook, and I had to think of some way to fix it. I had a couple of options:
1. Learn from mom. This seems, on the surface, to be the most logical choice. Now, don't get me wrong...there are many things that my mom makes, and makes really, REALLY well....and there are definitely things that I can learn from her....but she and I have some major disagreements when it comes to cooking. The major one is the "doneness" of meat...specifically, roast beef and steak. I didn't know that humans could consume meat with a pinkish interior until I was about 16, and was having dinner at a friend's house. It was a major discovery...a real coming of age situation. I joke with my mom that her method for cooking a roast is to cook it until it is well-done, and then cook it for another hour. I'll tell you, though....you can't beat her gravy...
Cooking for my mom is also highly problematic. There is a facial expression she gets when I know she hates what I have cooked, and while I am positive that she doesn't intend for it to be this way, that look says, "Well great, now we have no dinner, and it is your fault. I suppose it's time to microwave some soup so I don't starve to death..." All of that pressure is a major obstacle for me, so I try to cook things when I know I'm the only one eating it...so mom and I should not be in the kitchen at the same time...
2. Take a cooking class. I live in a small-ish town...that is not a very viable option for me...nor is it financially prudent...so that isn't going to work.
3. Own a library of cookbooks, and all 8 seasons of America's Test Kitchen (as well as season 1 of Cook's Country TV), and just force myself to cook things from them. Hmmm...not a bad idea. Sure, living in Canada makes it difficult to get some of the recommended brands....and some of the Flintstone-sized cuts of meat are not readily available (probably because we're shipping them to the U.S.), but I should be able to make that work. But wait! What's the motivating factor? What can drive me to even attempt it?
3b. Present the process to an audience. I am a musician...I am a performer...if I have an audience of some kind, then maybe I'll be able to stick with it because I'll feel like if I don't, I'm letting my audience down...and to a performer, that is simply not acceptable.
So, with that decided, here I am. Because my schedule is a bit frantic, the only time I have to cook things, really, is on weekends...so, I am "the Friday to Sunday foodie"
...so, what's next?
Yes, I have seen Julie & Julia...and I have read excerpts from the blog that started it all...but I didn't get this idea from that. No, this has been stewing (I am prone to puns...that is something you'll just have to deal with) for some time now...
I am a useless cook...completely useless....I am terrible at timing everything right, I'm a bit squeamish about handing raw meat, and I'm fairly dangerous when wielding a knife. (*an aside* Using the term "wielding" has its own set of negative connotations...wielding ANYTHING sounds threatening, "The thief stormed through the bank doors wielding a bread stick"....sounds a bit dangerous...Oooo..."brandishing" is another good one...right....digressing...). Anyway, I no longer wish to be a terrible cook, and I had to think of some way to fix it. I had a couple of options:
1. Learn from mom. This seems, on the surface, to be the most logical choice. Now, don't get me wrong...there are many things that my mom makes, and makes really, REALLY well....and there are definitely things that I can learn from her....but she and I have some major disagreements when it comes to cooking. The major one is the "doneness" of meat...specifically, roast beef and steak. I didn't know that humans could consume meat with a pinkish interior until I was about 16, and was having dinner at a friend's house. It was a major discovery...a real coming of age situation. I joke with my mom that her method for cooking a roast is to cook it until it is well-done, and then cook it for another hour. I'll tell you, though....you can't beat her gravy...
Cooking for my mom is also highly problematic. There is a facial expression she gets when I know she hates what I have cooked, and while I am positive that she doesn't intend for it to be this way, that look says, "Well great, now we have no dinner, and it is your fault. I suppose it's time to microwave some soup so I don't starve to death..." All of that pressure is a major obstacle for me, so I try to cook things when I know I'm the only one eating it...so mom and I should not be in the kitchen at the same time...
2. Take a cooking class. I live in a small-ish town...that is not a very viable option for me...nor is it financially prudent...so that isn't going to work.
3. Own a library of cookbooks, and all 8 seasons of America's Test Kitchen (as well as season 1 of Cook's Country TV), and just force myself to cook things from them. Hmmm...not a bad idea. Sure, living in Canada makes it difficult to get some of the recommended brands....and some of the Flintstone-sized cuts of meat are not readily available (probably because we're shipping them to the U.S.), but I should be able to make that work. But wait! What's the motivating factor? What can drive me to even attempt it?
3b. Present the process to an audience. I am a musician...I am a performer...if I have an audience of some kind, then maybe I'll be able to stick with it because I'll feel like if I don't, I'm letting my audience down...and to a performer, that is simply not acceptable.
So, with that decided, here I am. Because my schedule is a bit frantic, the only time I have to cook things, really, is on weekends...so, I am "the Friday to Sunday foodie"
...so, what's next?
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