Monday, Apr. 05, 2010
A dash of this, a pinch of that
Emily Jarrett, Journal Staff
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Off the record, last week, I had to call my mom and ask how to boil an egg.
In my defense, I know how to boil an egg. But there are two different schools of thought on the correct way to do it – either let the water boil first, then drop the eggs in or put eggs into a pot and then fill with water and let it come to a boil. I didn’t know which method was best for peeling the eggs afterwards.
I haven’t always liked cooking, but since leaving for college, I think I’ve come into my own when it comes to turning ingredients into meals.
When I lived in the dorms at college, my specialty was Easy Mac, and before you insist that isn’t “cooking,” well, you try creating cheesy macaroni with limited resources and a very low wattage microwave.
Dorm cooking required the chef to be creative – what exactly can I make with a few spoonfuls of leftover fried rice, some noodles and Fritos without the use of a stove, oven, pots or pans?
When I finally moved into an apartment, my roommate and I vowed to make good use of our kitchen and faithfully cook every night.
We ordered pizza and Chinese food a lot.
When I moved into an apartment of my own, however, I decided I’d start making delicious, somewhat healthy meals and invested in a few cookbooks, most of which were of the “quick and easy” variety.
It was then that I discovered my inner Paula Deen.
Chicken pot pie with crust made from scratch, vegetarian quesadillas with black beans and avocados, oven-baked fried chicken and sautéed mushrooms with garlic have all been made by yours truly.
Sure, there are still those occasional frozen pizza nights. But I’ve discovered making my own pizza – with pesto instead of red sauce, goat cheese instead of mozzarella and mushrooms instead of frozen pepperoni – is much tastier.
Since embarking on this cooking frenzy, I’ve also tackled family recipes of favorite dinners that my mom and grandma made when I was growing up. Of course I haven’t mastered any of them yet – my chicken noodle soup is no where near as flavorful as Grandma’s and somehow I can’t quite get the beef browned correctly for my mom’s pot roast – but I keep trying.
And then there is my arch-nemesis of food – waffles.
This past summer, I received a waffle maker as a housewarming present, much to my excitement. For someone who doesn’t enjoy eating breakfast food very often, I absolutely love waffles. But I’ve found I’m much better at ordering them than actually making them.
No matter how many batches I make, they never turn out fluffy and golden brown. Or, if I somehow do manage to get the desired color, they break in half when I try to scrape them off the waffle maker.
So breakfast isn’t my thing. I prefer making dinner anyway.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not at home making four-course meals every night. A lot of times I have tacos or chicken and rice, things that are easy, fast and require no thought.
But when the mood strikes, you can find me in my tiny apartment kitchen, more often than not getting every pot and pan that I own dirty.
If only I could remember the proper way to boil an egg.
Emily Jarrett is a staff writer for the Journal. To respond to today’s commentary, call 816-282-7018 or e-mail ejarrett@bluespingsjournal.com.
