I don't cook.
Well, I DIDN'T cook.
I mean, unless I can consider microwaving chicken nuggets or heating a panini to be cooking, then I didn't really cook at all before coming to Greece. But things are Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changing (enjoy the song reference) now that I am here.
With the introduction of our weekly potlucks I had to find a way to adapt. I had a couple of options:
Option 1: "Don't bring anything, but eat everything"- This is obviously the easiest option. But come on, I have more class than that...
Option 2: "Bring whatever is in the fridge"- This is also a pretty easy option, but also serves to provide something for the meal, whether that something is a slice of cheese and four eggs, or a pack of sliced bologna and a carton of milk. I admit, without shame, that I used this option the first week of the potluck, and in my defense the banana juice and bread that we brought were delicious. Still, there was one more option that I needed to give a shot.
Option 3: "Get off of your lazy butt and learn how to cook Jim (you big-nosed freak)": The most difficult, and most rewarding of the options. When giving yourself this option please note that the insult in parentheses is both optional and interchangeable.
The last two weeks I have taken Option 3, and I actually feel pretty good about that decision. To toot my own horn, I'm very proud of me.
Now, as someone who doesn't cook, I couldn't have done it without the help of some friends. On the first week that I actually cooked I had the help of Allison when it came to preparing the pasta. It was actually more of a pasta tutorial, with me doing very little but observing and occassionally stirring the pasta. But it was a step in the right direction. The pasta turned out delicious, and now I actually knew how to make one meal item of food! (I know it's easy, but cut me some slack).
This past week I decided to kick things up a notch. It was time to take the next logical step, from Pasta to Macaroni and Cheese. And not even boxed mac n' cheese, but legitimate mac n' cheese with homemade cheese sauce. For this new task I enlisted the help of my good friend and ally, Charlie, who helped me purchase all of the correct ingredients, and provided me with a recipe for my soon-to-be macaroni and cheese. Unlike my last cooking experience, however, she didn't do any of the actual cooking. She stayed in the room to guide me and offer an opinion on whether I was cooking it right or not, but I did the actual cooking myself. It was a learning experience. I had a couple fumbles along the way, but thanks to Charlie's supervision, I didn't butcher the macaroni at all. It actually ended up being pretty delicious, and I'm looking forward to making it again.
I'm excited for what next week holds in the cooking department. And I'm also just excited to be cooking in general. That is just one of many things that has changed within me since I've been in Greece. I'M A CHEF NOW.
Well, that's probably a little too far, but you get the point.
So when I get back to the states, and you're really hungry, just ask me to cook you up some homemade mac and cheese! :)
It may not be good, but it's the effort that counts right?
Alright probably not, but food is food...
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