Mmmm, shredded cow muscle.
Today I cooked lunch for myself: taco salad. Okay, it was just meat, cheese, and chips, so it was more like a beefy plate of nachos, but it’s a start. I’m working my way up to adding rice (they were out of my preferred Mexican rice at the grocery) and lettuce (I forgot to get it) and maybe a dollop of Daisy.
My concoction turned out relatively well. I could have used more taco seasoning, and a proper strainer (instead of the pan-to-pan mashing maneuver) would have made it less greasy.
This is the first thing besides a grilled cheese I’ve cooked on my stove. I am a lifelong picky eater, someone not interested in real food and ingredients, so I never took an interest in learning how to construct meals. And the longer I went without cooking, the more skiddish and embarrassed I became about actually trying. Besides, Phil was always a superb cook, so I was really of no use in the kitchen. And any time I’d try to cook something around him, I’d get self-conscious about my ignorance, and just scuttle away and come back when it was time to put ice in the cups.
But that’s stupid and all in my head. So I’m going to learn how to cook, even if it’s learning how to cook badly. And then I’m going to cook Phil a meal and see if it passes muster.
My next project is something involving chicken. Chicken seems to be harder to handle than ground beef because it’s harder to discern when it’s actually cooked. I don’t want to be the idiot who gives herself salmonella.
Hmmmm…Peppers? No need to slice and dice, just buy them already chopped in the frozen foods section. They do add flavor and color. Onions the same way, of course.
Gotta pass on the peppers and onions. Big yuck to both. What can I say? Picky.
However, I might try just a pinch of chopped bell peppers. That I could handle. Maybe.
Chicken isn’t hard either. Just cut a small piece and make sure it isn’t pink AT ALL in the middle. If it’s white, it’s done. A good cooking show is Good Eats. It’s simple recipes and it tells you the why’s and how’s of cooking.
God no, not chile peppers or jalapenos. Bell peppers is what I mean.The kind that come in green, red and yellow varieties. I never called ‘m bell peppers, but my husband does, so I guess that’s a regional thing.
Mad Cow-eriffic!
No offense, Lindsey, but looking at that greasy meat made me very thankful I’m a vegetarian.
Cheryl, Good Eats is a great show. Is it out on DVD? I might have to do that, since I don’t have cable. :(
KHall, Ha ha! Just remember that if you ever fall off the veggie wagon, there will always be a big fatty pile of dead animal membrane to catch you!
PBS has a couple of good Saturday morning cooking shows (11 AM or so) with Daisy Cooks and Rick Bayless’ Mexico One Plate at a Time. Both are centered on Mexican and Hispanic foods. They feature simple and easy to adapt for beginners recipes. They’ll give you ideas. :-) And they have websites where you can see the recipes.
Thanks for the suggestion, Mike. I’ll be sure to check out the web sites. It would be to my benefit if I were to get some rabbit ears, huh?
I dunno. Do they let you wear them at work? Might look silly. ;-)