Cooking

I would really like to be a good cook.  I come from a family of good cooks, and I grew up learning from them (read: sitting at the counter and sneaking bites of whatever it was they were in the process of making).

But then the whole gluten-free thing hit, and in a split second I went from being a pretty decent cook to subsisting on an all-smoothie diet.  After about a week of being unable to eat solid food (it wasn't pretty) - I wanted something that at least felt like food.  I also learned that it was not socially acceptable to carry a Magic Bullet infomercial blender with me everywhere.

I eventually figured out how to cook things gluten-free.  But until then - I had to make what I was eating at least sound good.  Vegetables in a blender?  Gazpacho!  Rice and vegetables all mixed up in a bowl?  Paella!  Anything I cooked in a pan?  Stir fry!  It's a lot easier to eat the same things almost every day when you're making yourself feel like Iron Chef anyway.

Over time, I actually got pretty decent at making things that looked like what I'd named them.  Things got better.  But since I never really learned to cook meat, and everything is adapted to be gluten-free, I am missing the basics.  I went from not being able to eat meat to not being able to eat bread - I haven't had a real sandwich (meat + wheat bread) since middle school.  Pizza and rice pasta are pretty much my diet staples.

So as much as I do enjoy cooking and I would love to be able to cook for my friends- I have realized that all the things I cook are not things that other people actually want to eat.  Will be working on making real-people food more often this semester...