The new cook

New forays into cooking abound here!

I have a lot of free time on my hand here in Cambridge. 3 and a half hours of class a week, 9 essays over the space of 8 weeks, manageable reading....all of this had lead me to find other activities. I read books for my Religious Studies major on my own, listen to a lot of Itunes U lectures and NPR shows, and I cook! I have never been a cook before. At home, I would make pasta, scrambled eggs, toast, and maybe nachos if I was feeling particularly inventive. But real, honest to goodness cooking? I just simply wasn't interested.

Well, necessity is the mother of invention, or, in my case, inspiration. Here, with paltry options at a too-far-away dining hall and all this free time, I decided to learn how to cook. I was pushed in the right direction by my lovely mother before coming to Cambridge; she had me follow along with a few of my favorite recipes, and take notes on numerous others. From seeing her cook so often I already had a basic grip on seasoning, measurement, simple cooking techniques, etc., but still had never really put together a meal, from the meal-planning to the grocery shopping to the cooking to the eating, all by myself.

Here, I've been loving cooking.

I've made three different curries (one even without a recipe!), beef chili, homemade macaroni and cheese, pan fried salmon, mashed potatoes, balsamic roasted green beans, enchiladas....mmm mmm mmm. I'm learning as I go, but have had a pretty great success rate so far! I make enough for leftovers and then store them away in my isty-bitsy fridge for lunch or dinner the next day. I may not be spending too much time in class here, but I am learning a whole lot of great life skills!