I realize it's been over two months since I left this blog hanging, and found myself way too busy (or lazy, whichever you prefer) to copy down the recipes I'd tried and relay them here. A few technical difficulties have manifested themselves as well, namely the sudden death of my camera. I don't feel completely right continuing on writing without sharing photos of the food (aren't 90% of your tastebuds in your eyeballs?), but I will for the time being. We'll see how long I last...
When I last left you, I was a few months into my vegetarianism. I'm glad to report that I am still a vegetarian, and have only indulged in meat a few times: two bites of my mom's creutons, a slice of her Christmas meat lasagna, and a grain-fed free-range chicken breast, all over the break. Not bad. I've been pretty good on my own, still eating fish however. A long discussion with a vegetarian friend of mine a few weeks ago reminded me that I still know nothing about the fishing industry when it comes to food sustainability and manufacturing. It seems I still have some homework to do before I can make an informed decision about consuming fish.
In the meantime, I have expanded my cooking skills, my pantry and my equipment. My grandfather built a spice rack for me, with room for 18 full-sized bottles of my best spices and herbs. I made little labels for each bottle, complete with pencil drawings of the plant or spice as best I could render them. My aunt also got me a second kitchen timer, in the shape of a fat pink piglet. I'm quite pleased with the result; my kitchen finally looks like someone cooks real food in it! My parents got me my very first set of Corningwear for Christmas, as well as a small 3.3L dutch oven. I still plan on cooking bigger dishes in my grandmother's Le Creuset, whose enamel is worn down to the cast iron and which my mother now refuses to cook in. Somehow, even as a biochemist with the knowledge that cooking directly on untreated iron isn't the best idea, I love firing up onions and butter in the very pot that my grandmother and my mother cooked every stew, every pate, every roast and every turkey in for the last 50 years. I can't throw a pot like that away. I am determined to rearrange my bookshelf to find a cozy spot for it, since I will be using it less and less (mom's orders). I still need to fix up my tiny cupboard space to make space for my new pots too!
Along with the Corningwear and my own dutch oven that perhaps my grandchildren will hold onto and covet one day, I also came into possession of the great The Joy of Cooking for the first time this Christmas. It's about time I got myself a copy of this book! Next on my "essentials" cookbooks are works by Julia Child, Martha Stewart and Ina Garten. Perhaps Emeril's cookbook is out there somewhere too. Either way, I've decided that there's no use having this brick of a book on my shelf if I'm not going to use it to its full advantage and actually read it. For those of you who aren't familiar, The Joy of Cooking isn't just a cookbook. It's an instruction manual, an encyclopedia of food. Why give you the recipe for pan-friend chicken and chicken a la king when the book can spend 10 pages explaining what a chicken is, how to break it down, how to best cook each part, and what to serve it with? I have spent many hours already pouring over it, happy to discover that while it contains aspic and souffle and all kinds of challenging recipes, that it also contains recipes for grilled cheese and homemade soda crackers! I can't wait to dive in.
Tomorrow is my prep day for the countdown to New Year's Eve. Like last year, I'm celebrating at a house party here in Kingston along with some of my closest friends, including Lisa and a few buddies from Bands who are making the trip in from out of province and country. I haven't seen many of them in a while, and I've decided to greet them with hot artichoke dip (my first recipe in the new Corningwear!) and bean and cheese quinoa quesadillas, from a quinoa cookbook my mom offered me for Christmas. I went entirely too dressed up last year, with my sparkly flowy top and my false lashes. This year, I've decided on a bottle of wine, jeans and a pretty top, along with a cute ponytail or something. None of the girls from work are back yet, and I have a feeling I'll miss them come midnight on Friday :(
My parents generously gifted Ernie with a nylon cat tunnel as his present, of course made of the same crinkly material as some baby toys. He's also been crying for the last half hour because his momma forgot to pack the cat food from home this morning, and all we have are cans of wet food and cat cookies. Tomorrow morning I head out first thing after a stiff cup of coffee, to get groceries for this week and food for my hungry kitten.
