Finding the joy of cooking :)

I haven't really updated this blog as the previous title is still true for the most part--we are making due without Daddy around very much.  When he is home, we make the most of every minute, but while he's away, I find myself searching for things to fill the day.  Of course Nicholas fills up most of it, and even when he's asleep I find myself looking at pictures of him and reminiscing on the day's fun.  But I've discovered that I need something for me, separate from Nicholas, to enjoy.

So--my latest hobby is cooking!  I am still relatively new to the whole idea of cooking.  Somehow I managed to wriggle out of helping mom at mealtimes when I was growing up. I was so busy with school and sports that it didn't take much convincing that I had little extra time to help.  "But mom," I'd argue, "I'll have plenty of time to learn to cook when I'm a mom some day!"  Well, the day has arrived, and it's about time for me to learn!

I've always been intimidated by cooking.  Andy loves to cook and introduced me to the joys of food network and the genius of Alton Brown, his hero.  My biggest beef against cooking was the amount of time that I put into a meal did not equal the amount of time that we enjoyed it.  Cooking time = one hour.  Eating time = 15 minutes.  Done.  And then there was all of that cleaning up to do afterwards!  But those were the days when I worked for ten-twelve hours and then went to school at night.

Last summer, as the school year ended and I found myself with my first summer off since high school, I searched for things to fill my days.  I did a little traveling and catching up with friends, but as I was eight months pregnant, I mostly just prepared the nest for Nicholas, enjoyed the blessings of air conditioning, and enjoyed food network!  I loved the joy with which the chefs approached food--the passion and creativity that they infused into their cooking really inspired me.  I recognized the importance good cookware like sauté pans and dutch ovens, learned cooking terms like sous vide and braise, and discovered ingredients like mascarpone and fennel.  All of those cooking shows began to marinate into me, and before long I decided it was time to stop just watching cooking shows and time to take action!

Don't get me wrong, I'm still filled with a little bit of fear and trepidation when it comes to cooking, and I have to rely heavily on the exact directions of a recipe, but I'm slowly gaining a little more confidence, and actually beginning to enjoy using my kitchen!  I've discovered tools like the kitchen aid mixer (which I used for the first time last week) and how easy it is to make your own whipped cream.

With Andy on duty every three days or out to sea, I haven't had to worry about how the meals came out.  If my experiments are duds, I can always have cereal :).

Here's a few of my latest experiments which went really well!

I made carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for a playdate last week.  I love to bake and have to wait until I have friends over or I will eat it all myself!!

Rachel Ray's recipe for meatballs and spaghetti sauce was amazing the next day for lunch as a meatball sub!

Arugula salad topped with caramelized pears fennel and walnuts and sprinkled with goat cheese.  Who needs dressing?

Toasted Italian bread topped with mozzarella and fresh tomato slices and drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Never tried fennel before so I decided to do it three ways--watching way too much top chef!  roasted with olive oil and salt and pepper, thinly chopped and mixed with orange slivers olive oil and lemon, and sautéed in the same butter, brown sugar, champagne vinegar that the pears were caramelized in.

Alright, I'm making myself hungry.  Time for a cupcake!