93. Try two new recipes a month.
I definitely abandoned this somewhere way back...but have been making strides to giving myself more time to do items like this on my list. I've definitely succeeded this month, with a few new dishes under my cooking belt..or, err, apron...
I was off from work sick for a week with a bad case of asthma - induced by a sore throat from a few weeks back. Stuck on my couch for a week, 3 days in, and I was B.O.R.E.D. I can only watch so many episodes of Say Yes to the Dress, CSI, Criminal Minds and Tommy Europe whipping people into shape on shows like The Last 10 pounds or Bulging Brides. Ugh those last too made this sicky rethink her spot on the couch and think back to the fitness goals I had set forth for myself and how they have not been met. I had thought of this about a month or so ago when I ran into a friend - my former fitness trainer - and he asked if I was still working out hard...and sadly I couldn't say "Oh yeah!". At the time of running into him I was still going to my dance classes and the odd workout here and there, so I think what I offered up in response was a half-hearted"Yeah, I try". But now when I think of this...being sick with asthma doesn't really make me wanna run down the street to the gym and pump some iron or do yoga for the fear of, you know, passing out from lack of oxygen. So I would have to find something else to get me off the couch. At least I could move.
I could cook! This only contributes to the work I will need to do once I do get back to the gym, BUT...ahh who cares. Under the suggestion of my mom, who knew I had a chicken sitting in my freezer, I finally made my first attempt at cooking at whole chicken. I found a tasty sounding roasted chicken recipe in the latest Food & Drink book, mixed it up and prepped my little chicken for the oven. It was still a little frozen so I knew it would take a bit more time, and I checked it thoroughly as I don't have a meat thermometer to go by. The result....an AMAZING success. I pat myself on the back. It was juicy, it was tender and just the right flavours I had been aiming for with the seasoning. I'd say cooked to perfection. I cut a few slices off and made a quick salad and ta-da: dinner :)
Another recipe I tried my hand at was homemade chicken soup soup. I made this the other night. With the chicken being so small the bones and carcass didn't leave me too much to work with to make the stock, but, it worked none the less. After the stock was made I threw in veggies, some chicken, and rice and I must say, for my first chicken soup it was a WIN!
Lastly, I tried my hand at making Alfredo sauce. I've never made it from scratch so I was a little anxious it would be a pasty mess or a drippy, thin catastrophe. Overall, it gets a passing grade, but I think I can still perfect it. The consistency was almost right and the taste could use just a little something i can't quite figure out yet.
And now that I think about alfredo sauce... I did get another dish under my cooking belt. A couple of weeks ago I had a friend over for dinner and while I had been planning on using the ground beef my mom had given me for my first ever meatloaf, it ended up being put to use as a pasta bake. My friend as it turns out is not the biggest fan of meatloaf (but insists it's due to her family's recipe). She said she didn't care what i made, but seeing as i wanted to make something we would both definitely enjoy, I went with a pasta bake. I used Fusilli pasta, and I cooked up the ground beef and veggies. Layered cheese on top and tossed in some leftover slices of Italian sausage from the day before. The result was tasty cheesy goodness. It was pretty amazing if I do say so myself. Meatloaf, I will make you one day. One day soon!
Anyhow, enough about cooking. There are a few other tasks that I think I will be making good on in the coming weeks. As mentioned in an earlier post, I am making cookies for our Workplace United Way Campaign silent auction (#100). I'm also looking into a new workout schedule (#38) with my workout buddy. We live close and this will make for a great motivation to actually get out and go to the gym, I'm hoping to start light with once-twice a week then working up to more frequent visits. My task mentions a trainer, but I haven't been to her in over a year so this has fallen by the way side. Its also part of my "being smart with money" effort (#16). Speaking of which, I plan on visiting the bank in the coming weeks and meeting with an advisor to get further in my reduction of debt, which I must say, I've come a long way since I first tacked this onto my list. It was a lot scarier then, now its manageable.
My last update is art related. I signed up for this really cool art project being organized by Art House Co-op and the Brooklyn Art Library. http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject It's a really different idea and I'm kinda stoked at the idea that the work that I put into this book is going to be available for mass viewing. You order a sketchbook and all you have to do is fill it. You can pick a theme from the ones offered or have them choose for you. After the books are all returned completed to the Library, they are catalogued and inventoried and then they are taken on a tour to the following cities in the States: Brooklyn (NY), Austin (TX), San Francisco (CA), Portland(ME), Atlanta (GA), Chicago (IL), Washington (DC) and Winter Park (FL). It is my hope to make the trek down to one of the shows in the spring when the tour is on, most likely either to Brooklyn or perhaps on its stop in Portland.
Even if my work only gets checked out a handful of times knowing that something with my name attached to it can be considered published work is kind of exciting...and intimidating. Now that I've signed up and picked a theme (Down Your Street), I'm hoping that I will not make this a flop. Eeee... Also...this means new art supplies.....oh exciting!!! To Wallack's I will go after next pay day. Have not been this excited about a new project in a while. I haven't really done art in a while and I can feel the excitement bubbling up inside me. A new focus, a new project, and something to express myself...I'm curious as to what I am going to come up with in the 40-50 pages.
