If It's Too Hot, Then Get Out of the Kitchen

Sorry for the irregular updates.  I'm settling into my new life here in Wrigleyville, which comes with its own set of quirks to get used to, such as the fact that Cubs fans are rude and bad at riding the train and that I am living in a house of boys.  So between everything else, I haven't had much time for writing.

Which is weird in and of itself because I'm not even in school.  Nor do I have a 9-5 job.  (I do, however, have an 8:30-1 job, that, including commuting, is more like a 7:45-1:30 job.)  So since I don't have much legally related stuff to tell you about, I thought since our time here will be coming to an end (BECAUSE I'M A 3L NOW!!!!) you should get to hear more about my life.  Today's fact:

I love to cook.

Cooking is one of my favorite things to do.  It's methodical, creative, and delicious.  Plus, I have the most awesome apron in the world to wear when I do cook.  And it comes with truly delicious results.  (Most of the time.  I have had some real kitchen failures.)

And before you think I learned it from my mom, stop yourself right there.  I didn't.  My mom is the first to admit that she can't cook.  I mean, it's not like she can't boil water, but she's pretty limited to casseroles and pasta.*  The Harling women have a saying:  "God made you for better things than cooking and cleaning."**

So when it came right down to it, I had to teach myself to cook.  And kids, it was NOT EASY.  Growing up in the midwest means that everything is made with cheese (either of the shredded or cream variety***) and leaves you feeling full and bloated.  Plus, there's not a whole lot of creativity going on.  It's pretty much "Add everything to bowl.  Stir.  Pour into pan.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour.  Top with potato chips."  There's a time and a place for that kind of food, but it's not every night.

So I started frequenting food blogs.  This taught me not only how to cook, but what to cook, and how to make substitutions.  It's also taught me about seasonal cooking, and how to walk into a farmers' market with the best of them**** and form recipes in my head.  Reading about food has taught me that I like light, easily prepared food that leaves me feeling full but not groggy.  I've tried to cut out a lot of carbohydrates in my own food.  I can honestly say that for many of my meals, at least half of my plate comes directly from the earth, not any sort of processing plant.

Cooking for yourself is not only empowering, it's cheaper.  True, I just spent way too much money on groceries.  But the food I bought will last me at least 3 weeks (with a couple smaller runs throughout that period), and I won't need to buy food elsewhere.  To eat out twice a day (if I did it REALLY cheap, nearly impossible here in Chicago) would run me about $250, and the food would often be greasy and badly prepared.  Even doing it once a day would cost $126 and then I'd just be hungry.  Sure, it's costly upfront, but there are definite long term savings.

My go-to food resources are as follows:

In fall and winter, I love Elise Bauer's Simply Recipes.  These are mostly family recipes and seem to just pack and extra punch of warmth and coziness.  Even my mom can cook these!  Plus, there's an apple cake that is my birthday cake every year and I've never met anyone who doesn't like it.*****  So easy and yummy.  Plus, it's great for school because the recipes are time-tested by a woman with six kids on a shoestring budget.  So, someone with no time and a little money.  Win!

In spring and summer, I live on Heidi Swanson's 101 Cookbooks.  It's entirely veggie and sticks strictly to seasonal cooking.  Because I'm often too lazy to cook meat, this website has taught me a lot about preparing veggies and how to use herbs and spices to make your food spectacular.  The salads and soups are delicious and simple.  Check out this brussels sprouts recipe, which got even my veggie-fearing boyfriend to like (properly prepared) brussels sprouts.

I also like The Smart Kitchen Blog, as it's written by a twenty-something who loves easy simple food and always comes up with interesting ways to cook, and Smitten Kitchen, where the recipes look sinfully delicious.  (I'm about to make the strawberry cake that's on the homepage.  Yummy.)

What about you?  Do you like to cook?  How did you learn?

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*Which, don't get me wrong, are both delicious.  I learned one of the best pasta recipes of all time from my mother, and if you ask nicely, I'll make it for you.

**We never bought into that whole biblical "Women, submit to your husband," thing.  More like that one part of My Big Fat Greek Wedding.  "The man might be the head of the household, but the woman is the neck.  And she can turn the head any way she wants."

***And in my household, ricotta.

****City living, my friends.

*****Until I tell them how much butter is in it at least.