Cooking Thoughts

Ever have one of those days where you don't want to cook. You know, you go to the fridge several points through out the day, open the door and stare. Then you close the door and open the freezer and just stare. Then you close the door and walk away. Nothing popped out, nothing appealed to the senses. And you know you gotta cook because A) you can't afford take out and B) because only that morning you pontificated about your organic, unprocessed, granola crunching diet. Which means I'm cooking.

My Hubby, bless him, is very tolerant of my sporadic attempts at trying new recipes. Now for reasons, I had felt in the past, it needed to be justified as to why I am experimenting. I would always say I saw it somewhere or I read it. Now, I tell my Hubby its Surprise Night. Will it or won't taste alright? That's the surprise if tastes good. Now I say, I thought I would try this. It feels good not having to justify myself.

Last night we had a late supper. It was too hot to cook. Except that I had to cook the dog's special tofu stew. Hubby looks into the sludge filled pot and asks if that's for supper. I swear he paled as a bit of tofu bubbled up. I said "Yep, thought I would experiment." that's when I heard it. The under the breath prayer for mercy. So, after asking him to taste to see if there was enough salt, I blew the bluff. I started to giggle at him. He was quite relieved to see the neat little packets of tin foil we were BBQing when it cooled down.

Yesterday was a good cooking day. Not today. I can't decide between pasta or rice. Potatoes are out, their just too much work. Do we go vegetarian or meat? Then there's the egg issue? And that's just way too much thinking for me.

Most days, I really enjoy cooking. Because our diet is for health reasons and not because we were pre dispostioned to granola, I spend a lot of time cooking and planning meals. If we want pizza, I make it as with hamburger and Asian.

The last time we had Asian we were so disappointed. It was our anniversary and Hubby said he'll cook. As we were deciding the best choice for our diet we went with Asian. For the money we paid, I could have gone to the grocery store and bought the ingredients; came home and made it for a fraction of the cost. It would have tasted better too.

I have a fondness for Chinese cuisine. There is something about that I get a warm comforted feeling from it. I think it stems to my childhood when my parents lived next door to Mr. and Mrs. Lee. Their family owned the Outrigger in Prince George. I was two or three years old. I remember being in the kitchen of the Outrigger. My other memory of is of Mrs. Lee. She was a tiny Chinese lady that hardly spoke a word of English but with a pretty smile. I remember her smell. She smelled so good like spices and soft flowers. Her kitchen smelled wonderful too. I would sit at her counter while I babbled on to her incoherently and she would talk to me in her language while I tasted what she was cooking. I remember Mr. Lee having a long thin face with very kind features. I often think of them. I would love to tell them that they had an influence on me.

Sigh.

I still have to figure out what I am cooking for supper. Maybe if I shake the fridge something will fall out.