Time to Spice Things Up!

I have no less than 10 cookbooks in my kitchen. The authors range from Rachel Ray to Martha Stewart to Giada De Laurentiis. They cover various themes: Italian, Health, Weight Loss, Quick Meals. They line the counter in color-coordinated fashion, looking beautiful, adding color to my kitchen. Unfortunately, that's all they do. I used to love to cook. I loved discovering new recipes, tasting my creations throughout the process. Over the past two years, however, time has become a valuable asset. I have exactly three hours from the time I get home from work until I go to bed. I have a lot to do in those three hours: eat dinner, iron clothes for the next day, relax. Somewhere along the way, cooking dinner was pushed to the back burner. Sadly, cooking has become a nuisance, a time-wasting process where time is worth everything. I am sad to say that my once great love-affair with food, has become boring and mundane. I am in a cooking rut. Nowadays, when I cook at all, it's the same few recipes, if one can even call them that. Boiled rice and sauteed vegetables, pasta with sauce from a jar (it literally pains me to use that stuff). Where is the risotto I learned through trial and error, the ceviche I was so proud to make, the succulent steaks with butter and herbs?

I've had a wake up call. It's time to spice up my relationship with food, literally. Julie and Julia has become one of my favorite movies. But it's not because of the witty dialogue or my slight obsession with all things European, or even the fact that I want to be Julia Child. It's the food that had me at hello. After watching the movie for about the fifth time, I decided that it's time to get cooking again. I used to love food. I know that love is still there, going strong. The fire just needs a little stoking. And today, while cooking my sad, single serving of rice and veggies and staring at the rainbow of barely used cookbooks, I decided to put them to use. Each week, starting this Monday, I will make four different dinners from those cookbooks. Each Sunday, I will sit down and plan out the week, choosing four recipes to make, and will shop for the necessary ingredients. I chose four instead of seven since I work at a restaurant on Saturday nights and always eat dinner there, and usually eat out once or twice a week with Kurt or friends. If I want this plan to stick, it needs to be realistic from the start. So, I'm sending my new resolution out into the cosmic void, so that I may held accountable. Whoever is out there, reading this, assuming you care enough about my exploits to keeping tuning in, I will keep you updated on my progress. I have no goal other than to learn more recipes, better my cooking, and rediscover my long lost love - food. Who knows, some of you might even benefit from this.