And cheers to another kicking year!!!

Ahh, new years. The time for resolutions, bettering yourself and living life to the fullest. I began 2011 with a lovely bang (with a brand new shiny rock on my finger) and ended it with a lovely bang (five shots of tequila and a few rounds of grey goose), so if you think about, there's really no need for life fulfilling here. But, in the spirit of tradition, I have decided to make up a few goals, which I figure I might as well post on here just so I could have it in writing.


GOALS FOR 2012

1. Go to the gym at least 2 times a week. Pretty doable and typical, yet still about 200% better than the amount of workouts I commited to last year.

2. Cook from a cookbook at least twice a week. Originally this was going to be to cook more complicated items but more sister said that was too vague so I changed it to this, to which she proceeded to complain that l made the same resolution two years ago and nothing came of it. To which I told her to shut up.

3. Keep the house clean. Seemingly simple but surprisingly difficult for the husband and I.

4. (And this one I just thought of now) Always have a book to read and finish the book! This does not include cookbooks, which I have no problem reading. These are novels - of any sort. I used to be a literary snob and only stuck to the classics (American, Victorian, Canadian - it didn't matter as long as they were tried and true). Now, after 6 years of post-secondary education and four years of working as an educator, it seems as if the only books I could enjoy are cookbooks and chicklit. So that is what I'm going to start with: chicklit. I just finished Something Borrowed so I quickly have to find something easy to ready before I lose my momentum.

Oh, and I guess another resolution could be to post up a recipe on this food blog of mine. I have all my pictures in order, now I just need to upload them. :)

HAPPY 2012!!!!

Welcome to My Kitchen!

Well, good evening everyone and welcome to my kitchen! Okay, so I admit that it's not really the best kitchen as it won't be filled with the usual delicious smells that's typically connected to a real-life oven and stove and it probably will have more typos and grammatical errors than a usual kitchen (of which I am crediting to the complexities of my new tablet and not the fact that I've been out of school and haven't written anything "intellectual" for several years now) but I will assure you, I will try to put this virtual kitchen to work more than I do with my actual kitchen.

Okay, I kid, the truth is that I do try to cook a lot but it doesn't mean that it's any good. Last week, I attempted to make this beautiful sounding Thai curry chicken soup. It started off very hopeful - the broth was slightly sour and spicy, the chicken was just perfectly seasoned. I was ready to put this recipe on the short list of dishes that I've mastered until the time came to put the rice noodles in. To give me some credit, I personally don't think it was all my fault. My close friend (as we obviously know each other well, since I do have two of his cookbooks) Chef Michael Smith didn't specify what type of rice noodles he wanted and when I guess-timated on the actual amount, all the noodle soaked up the broth and I ended up having soggy Pad Thai instead of soup for dinner.

Hmm, I'm starting to sound a bit whiney. Let me assure you, that's only one part of who I am. Maybe I should tell you a lttle bit about myself. I'm a new wife (5 months on January 6th!!), an elementary school teacher (but that's irrelevant, especially right now that I'm on Christmas break) and a foodie. Or a wannabe foodie, I'm not sure. What would you call a person who watches The Food Network almost exclusively, has a collection of over 50 cookbooks, talks incessantly about food, eating and restaurants, yet doesn't really know how to cook well? Sure, my husband says he likes everything I cook, but if he really liked it so much, would it take him two and a half hours to finish one plate of food and wouldn't he at least try not to fall asleep in between mouthfuls? At least this lifestyle keeps him lean but it'd be nice if he found pleasure in food almost as much as I do.

So here is my challenge: I, Jen G, is on a quest to become a better cook. You know, like Alex Guarnaschelli on Iron Chef Super Chefs, where she cooks so intricately and thoughtfully but at the same time is so humble about her talent. Just like Alex, I too will be humble about my forecoming talent. I will cook, actually use my 50+ cookbooks and follow the tricks and techniques that I learn on The Food Network, and one day, Jordan and my sister (who is a wannabe foodie too but better at it), will try my food and will learn to enjoy it (and not laugh!).

Come follow my mission, as I'm sure that documenting it all is really half the battle.

Here is one little picture of one of my favourite food victories :)