Diving in!

Food is magical.

Last night I made our version of Chipotle at home and watched a boiling broth surrounding my chicken to keep it from burning after I seared it turn quickly into a thick sauce that suddenly coated my chicken with bright color and tons of flavor. To think I had been about to pour out some of that broth because it was keeping the chicken from gaining any additional color. All the flavor I would have lost!

Okay, maybe I'm simple-minded in the kitchen (I also find salt particularly amazing... it makes things taste not like salt, but like greater, more intense versions of their original flavors. Magic!), but that's what works for me. And now that I've got a little experience cooking and can experiment with my own creations, it's finally time. I'm ready to go out on a limb and open a window into my kitchen. I've been cooking for two regularly for less than a year, but already I've broadened my scope so much. Just ask my mom... she loves to share how I didn't cook anything but macaroni, wouldn't touch any veggies but the most basic, and --God forbid-- couldn't even attempt to make anything without detailed directions. Believe it or not, Mom, that's all changed.

Ross, my boyfriend of a year-plus now, has very simple requests when it comes to dinner. Chicken or steak plus a veggie and maybe some rice makes him a happy man, so that's where I began. He could eat that every night, but I quickly realized how boring it would become. I love fresh green vegetables now, particularly sugar snap peas, asparagus and green beans, with a little broccoli mixed in on occasion. I began adding recipes based on meals from my childhood, restaurant dinners, and Food Network ideas. It snowballed, and now I'm having fun. In the past two weeks or so, a very successful time in my kitchen, I've made shrimp sushi rolls, cream cheese chicken enchiladas, a spicy beef stew, roasted chicken and potatoes in white wine sauce, chicken shepherd's pie, and buffalo chicken. Most of those were either my own creations or were only loosely based on a recipe.

This blog is to share my cooking experiments and discoveries with anyone who's interested. I'll take pictures and discuss what I tried. I've been lucky so far to not have many cooking failures, but when they arrive, I plan to document them here just as I will the successes. I hope to include tips, suggestions and variations in case anyone wants to try meals for themselves, and I welcome everyone's comments!

Look for my first real cooking post soon!

- Tara