I love food.

There is nothing more pleasing to the senses than a bite of something extra delicious. :)
Unfortunately, I'm a terrible cook. Ever since I was in elementary school, I've always tried to emulate people on cooking shows. I would make a mess out of the kitchen by pre-measuring all the ingredients and setting them out in little bowls (cooking shows make it seem like the cool thing to do). I would enjoy the process--"let's add a little dash of pepper," "now here we have finely diced tomatoes,"--but I never seemed to get the end product right. And by that, I mean that my food tasted horrible.
Even around holiday season, my friend and I would get together to bake cookies. One batch was supposed to be double chocolate chip, and turned out an odd shade of shiny black. The other batch caught on fire.

But all this hasn't deterred me from my lifelong goal of cooking fabulous food. Ever since my father unexpectedly left my mother and I on June 18th, 2009, I've been cooking just about every night. My mother lost 13 lbs in the span of a month when she found out about my dad's affair. When he left in June, she lost her appetite again and stopped eating, save a few spoonfuls every now and then.

I recalled my disaster days in the kitchen, and how my parents would eat everything that I cooked with smiles on their faces and heaps of praise. Ah Ha! A mother can't turn down her daughter's cooking. I've used this to my advantage, and have been greatly improving my skills ever since. Besides, I have to learn how to cook somehow, otherwise I'll starve to death in my apartment next year.

Enjoy!
-jNN
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Wednesday, July 29, 2009

I've rediscovered granola!


I was force fed granola at every sporting event--soccer, tennis, crew--and grew to dislike it. Sometimes it was too sweet, sometimes it was too salty, sometimes it was horribly dry. But the other day at a "garden brunch," I finally saw the light. My friend's mother had homemade granola! And it was absolutely delicious, I couldn't stop snacking on it. I made some yesterday night on a whim, hoping that it would turn out semi-decent...and it is perfect. I've been searching for something healthy to snack on (besides fruits and veggies) that I can bring to my itsy bitsy cubicle...and this granola fits the bill.

Yum. Oats and rushed nuts (cashews, almonds, pecons, walnuts) + honey, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extact, wheat germ. Didn't have any dried fruit (cherries, raisins), but will add some next time. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes, taking the pan out and stirring every 10 minutes.


Posted by jNN at 6:42 PM

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