Sunday 1 September 2013

On Buying New Spices

I have been cooking.  I have been watching every cooking reality show on YouTube.  I have been making lists of tricky foods I want to make someday (eggs benedict, chocolate soufflé, pommes fondants, among other things).  I have been excited by Gordon Ramsay's campaign to "get women back in the kitchen".

Yes, Gordon Ramsay is a class-A dick.  He uses the word "stunning" far too often.  He has this weird idea that he's not a celebrity chef.  He's ugly as hell, and in every show he's on, they make a point of how he's sexy in some weird way.  I can't say I get that.  And now this sexist-sounding campaign?

BUT...

He knows food.  And, he wants people to fall in love with cooking again.  So he got me on that one.  I think feeding my family is one of the most important things I do every day.  I want to make it count.  I want to teach my boy a thing or two about food, and that involves more food prepared by mama, and less food delivered to our table or door.

So I decided to give Indian food a try.  I didn't attempt anything too authentic, I am sure tonight's supper was a very Westernized rendition of Butter Chicken (I mean, I don't even use chicken--we eat it with this fake chicken sort of stuff which is uh-maze-ing!), however it is tasty and tasty and tasty.  Andy goes mental for it, which pleases me infinitely.  It's the look of complete pleasure on my husband's face while he eats that keeps me happy to be in the kitchen.

Anyway, when I first decided to try to cook these new dishes I had reservations.  I didn't want to invest in a bunch of new ingredients if it turned out poorly, or with too much difficulty.  Every look at the spice rack would become a reminder of that time I tried something and failed.  Well, I didn't fail.  We have a new favourite dish.  I like having the aromatic smell of my cooking filling up our condo.

I was thinking about taking a picture of what I made for supper tonight, but for anyone who has had butter chicken before, you know it just looks like lumps of stuff in an orangey slop-sauce.  If you can't smell & taste it, the look is nothing special.

But, you know, come by and smell and taste it sometime.  No kidding.

What have you been cooking lately that you're proud of?  What would you like to attempt some day?

2 comments:

  1. Awesome Rhea, I love cooking and trying out the odd new recipe. Good for you.

    BTW since you are jumping into the blogging world why don't you join our little HRM blogger Facebook group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/halifaxbloggers/

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