Wednesday, January 7, 2009

To cook or not to cook...

Like mwr, I've also made a food resolution for the new year. I was forced to amend it slightly, however, when I realized I had made a rookie mistake. My resolution, to "cook more," was far too general and provided me with more than a little wiggle room. A wishy-washy, ambiguous resolution like this would have made it far too easy to claim success next December. I recognized that I needed some parameters.

SO. My new resolution is to cook once per week. It's shameful to acknowledge that I currently cook far less often than that, but at least I have an excuse for myself. I eat out ALL THE TIME. I don't even have to wonder where all my money goes, because I already know. RESTAURANTS. I love food too much to subject myself to my own cooking when there are so many amazing restaurants and tantalizing dishes to sample in this city. Why would I make myself veggies and rice when I could have Butternut Squash Risotto Croquettes? It just doesn't make sense.

Well, I suppose all that is about to change, depending on the strength of my motivation to actually go through with this. I truly enjoy cooking, and even if I'm not talented enough to whip up something Lodge-worthy, I miss the experience of creating something savory and delicious in my own kitchen. My only consolation is the fact that I have continued to bake regularly, mostly just because my cookies and assorted baked goods are simply unrivaled...haha. Still, whether it was just laziness or the seduction of the thousands of restaurants in the area, this no-cooking era must end.

When and if I cook this week (...maybe I should just cook once every two weeks...), I'll probably use this handy link from my friend R to warm myself up to the big leagues again...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/18/dining/18mini.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=bittman%20101%20recipes&st=cse

2 comments:

mwr said...

Awesome resolution! Achievable goals are the best. Best of luck ... I'm sure you can do it! And don't worry, home cooking can easily be just as expensive as eating out, so you'll still be able to ask yourself where the money went.

k said...

what a great article.