about cooking dinner

cobbler!

apron-ed up!

the lasagna before the oven...I got too excited about eating
 it to take an after-picture

1) cooking dinner is work :: props to all those moms and dads out there (mine included) who cook dinner for their families after a long day of work.  Something I grew up valuing is spending time with your family, TV off, enjoying a meal with one another.  But WHEW, cooking is work! Last night I made dinner and dessert and it gave me a whole new appreciation for all the times someone has made the effort to offer me a home-cooked meal.

2) cooking dinner allows you great wardrobe options :: One bonus of cooking is getting to wear an apron around the house.  Last year, my roommates and I had aprons strung all over our pantry doors; it wasn't rare for someone to be wearing one for either meal-making or just twirling around the kitchen to the latest J. Biebs song.  Yesterday I cooked in my straight-from-Paris (thanks, D) apron, which is perfect because French people can cook well and also because there is a picture of a cat on the bottom.  Also, I'm trying to think of a way I could wear an apron at all times of the day and have it not be weird -  that way when I spill something it's like a bonus layer. I just strip it off and wah-la! second-chance outfit underneath.

3) cooking dinner makes me feel like pinterest matters :: Like most members of my gender with access to the internets, I have a pinterest. and I pin things. a lot.  and most days I merely dream about maybe, one day, if I ever get the free time, actually using a recipe or craft idea that I pin on my boards.  I found this yummy recipe for Creamy White Chicken and Artichoke Lasagna and pinned it and guess what? I actually COOKED it, it was delicious, and thank you, pinterest.