Cooking

At one time I didn’t want to cook, one reason was because I couldn’t and thought I would have a hard time. Mainly though, I was just lazy. Now, I have trouble comprehending why people don’t like to cook. The biggest part is following directions and anyone can do that. For some courses, such as Italian Wedding Soup my mother had to type the directions larger because there are several steps; for others, it is simple enough that I don’t need written directions, i.e. pork chops and cavatelli.

I made chicken scampi last Friday and that is always a little challenging because you have to be able to tell when the chicken gets brown. Well, to me it just looks darker; I can’t tell that it’s supposed to be brown. The preparation is easy, it’s just that browning is challenging. Sometimes, I can tell and sometimes I have to break off a piece and taste it. The pasta part is very easy.

We have sauce a lot and now, I’m the one who makes it. It can be either meat sauce or sauce with meatballs. When I’m cooking, I usually listen to an audiobook. It makes the time go by faster and thus, makes mindless, yet important tasks like making meatballs or cutting up garlic easier. Most nights I do something to help with dinner, up to, and including, making the entire thing.

We have turkey and stuffing for Thanksgiving dinner, lobster for Christmas Eve dinner and homemade meat ravioli for Christmas Day dinner. I don’t make any of these but I could probably make the ravioli and do a lot for Thanksgiving. I often help with the relish dish for thanksgiving and I like to eat all the black olives before they go in the tray.

Italian Wedding Soup is something else I like to make and again, all it requires is following directions. The Wedding Soup takes more time, simply because, the meatballs are smaller and therefore, take longer to make. It’s often easier just to make the meatballs one day and the soup, the next. I used to get Italian Wedding Soup from a local store but it had WAY, and I mean WAY, TOO much salt it. The recipe I use, which everyone likes, uses a little salt, but not a gallon. Needless to say, I make my own now instead of getting theirs.

On our oven we put a raised dot on 350 since that is the temperature that is most used. We have a gas stove since I never used our old electric stove because it was very difficult. I haven’t yet tried anything that requires a mixer but, when I do, I’m sure I’ll figure something out.