The kitchen

By Stephanie

Michael cooks 99% of the time we eat at home. Dinner anyway. He references recipes, but aside from learning a new cuisine, isn't big on following them. It helps that he has a grounding in the classic techniques and many years on the line behind him. No complaints from me. After having to decide what I was eating everyday, being able to sit down to a nice dinner with no or little decision making is very nice. He says he is enjoying cooking for us, and I take him at his word. He likes it when I bring food home and he can work with ingredients he did not select. Or when I make suggestions as to what I would like to eat. 

(kitchen with winter sunlight)

Once in awhile, I'll get in there and put dinner together; usually when he is out for the evening and occasionally, because I want to try a recipe. I like buying cookbooks, reading them, and following recipes (though not without variations.) I used to cook, eat out more often, or be happy with a dinner of girl food - toast, cottage cheese, fruit, a pint of ice cream, that sort of thing. Lunch out was often the big meal of my day. We don't eat out as much as I did alone, though more than many. I'm still fascinated by the restaurant business, though I have no interest in being in it. I did a little restaurant work in my 20's and that was enough (and it was not much.) But I can talk about food anytime. I still bake. Chocolate is big on my list of favorites, but for home baking, fruit filled cakes, cobblers, crisps, and slumps seem to outnumber everything else. They are quick, easy to prepare, work well with the frozen bounty and overripe fruit, and you can make believe they are nutritious. 

I know the spice jars on the counter should not be in the sunlight, but the cupboard above is already full of herbs and spices!