Creative Cooking

I don't remember learning how to cook. Sure, I took home-ec- with the meanest teacher ever. I dissolved into tears during the entire sewing lesson. I don't know what it was but I became completely dyslexic when it came to threading that machine. It just never made sense. I like the idea of sewing. The idea of creating my own clothes is quite appealing. In fact I signed up for a sewing class as an adult. My goal was to make some curtains to replace the duck themed ones in the camper we had just bought. Simple enough, yes? Well. I found some excuse and ended up dropping it after one, maybe two classes. Me and sewing are just not meant to be. My dad ended up sewing most of my home ec project in seventh grade- a pillow. A rectangular pillow. Four perfectly straight edges. Even now my husband or daughter sew any buttons that have fallen off. I have many talents but apparently sewing is not one of them.

But cooking is. I love to cook. My secret is adding copped nuts or seeds to many dishes- it makes them seem more exotic than they are. My mom is amazed when she comes to visit at how I can whip things together the way I do. I sometimes try recipes from cookbooks but that doesn't last long. I prefer to make up my own. My new thing is letting the cupboards and freezer get down to the bare bones and still creating something appetizing for my family. I didn't make it to the grocery store today and I really needed to. Desperately. But, we are still eating well. It's a vegetarian appetizer night: vegetable gyoza, vegetarian chicken tenders, spinach florentine bites and carrot and celery sticks. All served with a glass of red wine and that is a perfectly acceptable dinner, considering it looks as though we have nothing. The fruit bin is empty. Ditto the veggie bin except for one carrot and three stalks of celery. There is just something so satisfying in creating something from apparently nothing. Not to mention the hundred bucks we saved by not going out to eat.