My Return to Cooking

Cooking is in my genes.  I was predestined to want to cook.  I took every advantage when I was younger to help my mother in the kitchen, to be inspired by my dad's magic hand, and to try every recipe I could manage from the Kraft Kids cookbook.

Admittedly, however, I have been long stuck to the recipe on the page.  Only recently have I begun to feel confident enough to go by instinct, by feel, by smell, and by taste.  This is in large part thanks to Jake.  Part of the reason I fell madly in love with him--and what keeps me happy to this day--is that he can cook even better than I can.  When I found out he made homemade chicken wild rice soup from scratch, I was S-O-L-D.  Throughout the first few years of our relationship, we cooked many a meal together.  It was something we both enjoyed doing, and we'd try new things out on each other all the time.  But more often than not--and more often from my own choosing--I would do the "prep work" while he'd do the rest.  I was more than okay to watch him work his magic over the stove.

And the fact that he know show to cook has served our little family particularly well over the past year when my work schedule meant I didn't get home until 7 pm.  He really stepped up to the plate and made more dinners than I can even recall, especially after I started making him a "menu" so he didn't have to answer that eternal question "What's for dinner?" all by himself.

But now that my schedule has shifted and I'm home by the shockingly early hour of 4:30, I now can cook dinner.  And not just the prep work because as soon as we get home Jake usually bolts for the garden to work out there.  We're talking about me cooking the entire thing.

It's been glorious.  Apron on, hands washed, I feel I'm on a culinary adventure nowadays.  The constant influx of things from the garden presents an intellectual challenge.  How can I make zucchini different again??  I look forward to seeing what I can come up with, and it feels really good to be able to produce something not only from scratch, but using produce and herbs you've grown.  Satisfying in the stomach, satisfying in the soul.

So what was for dinner last night?  Warm weather Couscous.  The title sold me given how awfully hot it's been recently, but when I saw all the garden veggies in it, my heart pitterpattered.  I had found the recipe to use up the glut and make it all come together in a tasty creation.  And even though I didn't have everything on the list, I improvised.  I made it work.  Substituted roasted cumin for cumin, coriander powder for coriander seeds, added some carrot and garbanzo benas--you know, the standard ;-)  Here's the link to the recipe, but here's the basic idea:

1. Cook couscous by pouring boil water over and steaming it for 10+ minutes (or whenever the other stuff gets done)

2. Chop lots of vegetables (onions, peppers, zucchini, green beans, carrots, etc.) and saute in olive oil.

3. Add spices, including tumeric which instantaneously turns the dish a vibrant yellow, and some broth and simmer til vegetables are done (5-10 minutes).

4. Top with fresh cut parsley and raisins.  Voila!