The Joys of Cooking

Before I start, I just want you all to know that the Ford Fusion "Is at its best when driven." Believe it or not this car is meant to be driven and actually performs best when it is used for what it was designed to be used for. A car dealership actually uses this line in its radio advertisement and I can't help but laugh every time I hear it.

Okay, on to the good stuff. In my last post (see below) I said that I was thankful for the ability to read, which included recipes. A faithful (I hope :-) reader asked what sort of recipes I used and what I ate for dinner. Being the fan of food that I am, I leapt at the opportunity to pontificate upon one of my favorite subjects. I am currently a lazy,cheap 23 year old bachelor and the majority of the time my meals reflect that. Pasta (fancy name for Ramen and Mac & Cheese), frozen pizza as well as frozen chicken or fish, rice-a-roni, and instant meals such as stuffing, potatoes, soup, and hotdogs. Not to mention the oddball stuff like yogurt, cereal, and candy. The above list probably covers 75% of my monthly dinners. I do of course like variety so I try never to get into any kind of habit, say like pizza only on Thursdays every Thursday; that's just boring. Also to shake things up, I actually occasionally cook something.

My family knows that I enjoy cooking (I've been doing it on and off since highschool) and they have encouraged and helped me out enormously. The two biggest helps that they have given me are a crockpot (with accompanying cookbook), and a bread maker. I've had the breadmaker for about a year and have used it close to every week. Being the lazy bachelor that I am, I usually buy the premade kits in the store; all you do is add water, put it into the machine, and 'hey presto' instant loaf of bread. Finally for the first time last week, I made up the recipe from scratch and I probably won't go back.
I have decided that the crockpot, not the dog, is man's best friend. Ten minutes of preparing your food, and eight hours later you have a meal. I will admit that when I first got it, I hardly ever used it. Then for Christmas I received the 'Fix it and Forget it' crockpot/slowcooker cookbook. That changed everything. Hundreds of recipes for everything from soups, to salad, to main courses, to desserts. I started out easy with things like chili, pea soup, simple cooked chicken. But then I started getting more involved, potato cheese puff (one of my brother's favorites),roast beef, something called cowboy stew, and this week I plan to try a tuna noodle casserole. However, I almost feel like crockpots are cheating because you don't have to do anything to get a great meal.

I have to admit though that I enjoy cooking. Things like shepherds pie, apple crisp, calzones (that was a bibleschool meal done with Diane R.), pizza, and pies aren't just tasty when eaten, but they are fun to make. There are four things that keep me cooking. The need for variety, the enjoyment of making something, the pleasure of eating it, and the compliments of others afterwards. I know it would be considered rude to do so but I can't remember anyone telling me that something I had made was lousy. I know that sounds stuck up so let me tell you my secret to a great dish. READ THE RECIPE! That's it. I have never made an original dish in my life. Everything I have ever cooked has come from someone more experienced than I who knew what would taste good and what wouldn't. This last weekend (Thanksgiving) I made a pumpkin cheesecake for the first time ever. How? I chose a recipe that I thought I could follow and simply did what they said. And it turned out great. Same thing for the crust on the pumpkin pie. I had never made one before but just followed a simple recipe and ended up with a great pie crust. So just follow the printed directions and you too can cook like a Wesley,... I mean a pro.