adventures in cooking.

Most anyone who reads this blog knows that cooking isn't my thing. I don't have a particular issue with it (in fact, it's fun if you do a good job), but I'm not generally very good at it. I blame this partially on the fact that my sister loves to cook and is very good at it, so she took over cooking with my mom and learned a bunch of stuff. Also partially on the fact that my husband is an amazing cook and frankly, why would I cook my mediocre food when he's always cooking great stuff?!

Regardless, as part of an effort for us to become healthier people, we decided to start eating more whole foods (less processed/canned/boxed/frozen/etc.) and up the ante on our exercise (or lack thereof at the moment). This means, more stuff from scratch. ::Sigh:: I decided it meant it was time for me to take the reins and try to split the kitchen 50/50 with my dude. I had serious doubts.

Bottom line: success! I thought, at first, that I my have bitten off a little more than I could chew. I decided to go with chicken and spinach (whole wheat) linguini Alfredo with bacon. That's right folks. You read it right. I made Alfredo sauce from scratch. That's a big deal for this girl. True story (and I mean true), I definitely set three different items on fire (not big fires) while cooking, part of the hazards of a gas range and doing ninety things at once (a paper towel on the bacon plate, the actual box of matches we use to light the pilot on our stove, and a linguini noodle that escaped the pot when I poured them in and slipped into the burner). After putting all the fires out and managing three pans at once, I tasted with my eyes closed because I was definitely scared. And it was good! Here's a crappy photo after I ate half:

I have to say though, I was so damn tired from making it (and slightly stressed) that it was hard to enjoy it a ton. Really good, but now I'm just pooped.

Hopefully the next attempt is just as good with less fire involved.

School starts tomorrow! I'm scared/stressed/stoked. More later.

XXXOOO,
Ash

P.S. My mama's having surgery tomorrow to remove her pesky gall bladder. I've seen it done a bunch of times during school/work (easy peasy!), but it's a little different when it's your own mom. Say a little prayer for her quick recovery. THANKS!